PIX QR Code Explained
How Brazil's EMV-based QR payment system works
Static vs Dynamic PIX QR
| Feature | Static QR | Dynamic QR |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | Not preset | Pre-filled |
| Reference | Not set | Included |
| Expiry | No | Optional |
| Use case | Shops, P2P | Invoices, e-commerce |
| Reusable | ✅ | ❌ One-time |
| API required | ❌ | ✅ Bank API |
PIX Key in the QR Code
A PIX QR code does not contain a direct bank account number or IBAN. Instead it encodes:
- The EMV payload containing the PIX key (CPF, CNPJ, phone, email or UUID)
- Merchant name and city
- Optional amount (pre-filled for dynamic QR codes)
- CRC16 checksum at the end
The payer's bank reads the payload, resolves the PIX key via BCB's directory service (DICT) and routes the payment instantly to the correct recipient.
Technical Format: EMV MPM
PIX uses EMV Merchant Presented Mode (MPM) — the same standard as QRIS in Indonesia and PromptPay in Thailand. The payload is made up of TLV (Tag-Length-Value) data objects.
| Tag | Content | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 00 | 01 | Payload Format Indicator |
| 01 | 11 / 12 | Static (11) or Dynamic (12) |
| 26 | … | PIX Merchant Account Info |
| 26.00 | BR.GOV.BCB.PIX | PIX AID (Application ID) |
| 26.01 | key@email.com | PIX Key |
| 52 | 0000 | Merchant Category Code |
| 53 | 986 | Currency (BRL) |
| 54 | 150.00 | Amount (optional) |
| 58 | BR | Country Code |
| 59 | Merchant Name | Merchant Name (max 25) |
| 60 | Sao Paulo | Merchant City (max 15) |
| 62.05 | *** | Reference Label |
| 63 | XXXX | CRC16 Checksum |
Example Payload
This is what a typical PIX QR payload looks like (formatted for readability):
000201 010212 26580014BR.GOV.BCB.PIX0136 name@example.com 52040000 5303986 5406150.00 5802BR 5920Merchant Name GmbH 6009Sao Paulo 62140510*** 6304A1B2
* The last 4 characters (A1B2) are the CRC16 checksum computed over the entire preceding payload.
CRC16 Security
Every PIX QR code ends with a CRC16-CCITT checksum. It prevents tampered or corrupted QR codes from being accepted.
PIX vs Other QR Standards
| PIX (BR) | QRIS (ID) | PromptPay (TH) | UPI (IN) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Format | EMV | EMV | EMV | URL |
| AID | BR.GOV.BCB.PIX | ID.CO.QRIS.WWW | A000000677010111 | upi://pay |
| Currency | BRL (986) | IDR (360) | THB (764) | INR |
| CRC16 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Cross-border | Limited | ✅ ASEAN | ✅ ASEAN | ✅ Growing |
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