Europe's payment QR codes are plain text with just 12 line-break-separated fields

Payment QR codes used across Europe follow the EPC069-12 standard set by the European Payments Council, and their payload is simply 12 plain-text elements separated by line breaks — no binary framing or JSON involved. The format, marketed by German banks as GiroCode, encodes details like the beneficiary name, IBAN, and transfer amount, all within a strict 331-byte limit. One notable constraint is that the standard supports only euros, ranging from €0.01 to €999,999,999.99, with no provision for other currencies. Crucially, the format contains no digital signature, meaning nothing in the code verifies who created it — a security consideration highlighted by the author. The author, who runs ibanchecker.cash, also flagged a real-world bug where their generator mistakenly placed the bank name instead of the account holder's name in the payee field, causing apps to suggest paying the bank directly.