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Quick Answer: QR Ph is the national QR payment standard in the Philippines, governed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and accepted by GCash, Maya, UnionBank Online, and most Philippine bank apps. Philippine businesses can activate QR Ph through HitPay — a BSP-regulated payment gateway with full operations in the Philippines — with no monthly fees, instant activation, and next business day payouts in PHP.

QR Ph has become one of the fastest-growing payment methods in the Philippines. The Statista Philippines e-commerce market reflects surging digital payment adoption, driven largely by QR-based methods that work across wallets and banks without requiring card infrastructure. For SMEs in Makati, BGC, Cebu, or Davao, accepting QR Ph is no longer optional — it is table stakes for capturing cashless customers.

This guide covers what QR Ph is, how it works for both online and in-person sales, and how to get set up through a payment gateway that supports it end-to-end.

What Is QR Ph and How Does It Work?

QR Ph is a unified QR code payment standard mandated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas under its National Retail Payment System framework. A single QR Ph code can be scanned by customers using GCash, Maya, UnionBank Online, BPI, BDO, Metrobank, and other participating apps — because all of them follow the same standard.

When a customer scans a QR Ph code:

1. Their banking or wallet app reads the merchant's details embedded in the QR.

2. The customer enters the payment amount (dynamic QR) or confirms the pre-filled amount (static QR).

3. The transaction routes through InstaPay or PESONet rails and confirms in real time.

4. The merchant receives confirmation — typically within seconds.

This interoperability is the key advantage. Unlike proprietary QR codes that only work with one wallet, QR Ph lets a GCash user pay the same merchant as a Maya user, with no separate integrations required.

What Are the Two Ways to Accept QR Ph?

Static QR (In-Person)

A static QR code displays a fixed merchant identifier. The customer scans, enters the amount, and pays. Static QR is ideal for market stalls, food courts, and service counters where staff confirm payment manually. It requires no internet-connected terminal — just a printed or displayed code.

Dynamic QR (Online and POS)

A dynamic QR code is generated per transaction and pre-encodes the exact amount. It is used in online checkouts, payment links, and POS systems where each sale produces a unique QR. Dynamic QR reduces manual entry errors and simplifies reconciliation because each code maps to one transaction.

For a detailed breakdown of how QR Ph is generated for both use cases, the step-by-step guide covers static vs. dynamic setup for Philippine merchants.

How Do Businesses Set Up QR Ph Through HitPay?

HitPay supports QR Ph for both online and in-person payments in the Philippines, with instant activation and no monthly fees. The setup process is:

1. Sign up for a free HitPay account at hitpayapp.com — approval takes 1–3 business days.

2. Complete business verification with valid Philippine business documents.

3. Enable QR Ph in the HitPay dashboard under Payment Methods — activation is instant.

4. Choose the acceptance method: payment link, online checkout, or in-person Scan to Pay.

5. For in-person use, display the HitPay-generated QR code on a phone, tablet, or printed standee.

6. Funds from QR Ph transactions settle to the merchant's account the next business day in PHP.

HitPay's Scan to Pay feature for Philippine merchants enables in-person QR Ph acceptance directly from a smartphone — no dedicated terminal required.

What Other Payment Methods Should Be Enabled Alongside QR Ph?

QR Ph covers customers using bank apps and major wallets, but not every Philippine customer pays by QR. A complete cashless setup for Philippine SMEs should include:

According to World Bank financial inclusion data, a significant portion of the Philippine population remains underserved by traditional banking — meaning over-the-counter and wallet options still matter alongside QR Ph.

HitPay supports all of the methods in the table above through a single integration, which simplifies reconciliation and reduces the number of settlement accounts a business needs to manage.

How Does QR Ph Compare to Accepting GCash or Maya Separately?

Accepting QR Ph through a gateway is not the same as applying directly to GCash or Maya as a merchant. The key differences:

• QR Ph via gateway: One integration covers all QR Ph-compatible apps simultaneously. Settlement flows through the gateway on a consistent schedule.

• Direct GCash merchant: Covers only GCash users. Separate application process, separate dashboard, separate settlement.

• Direct Maya merchant: Same limitation — Maya users only.

For most SMEs, accepting QR Ph through a payment gateway that also supports GCash and Maya individually provides the broadest coverage with the least administrative overhead. The payment gateway comparison for Philippine businesses covers this trade-off in detail.

Frequently Asked Questions