How to make a UPI QR code for your shop, free, and keep it safe

Customers ask “GPay irukka?” before they even reach the counter. You already use UPI on your phone, and you want a QR code on the counter so people can scan and pay without you reading out your number every time. Do you need to apply somewhere, pay for a sticker, or wait for a bank?

No. If you have a UPI ID, you can make a UPI QR code yourself, for free, in a minute. This guide shows how, explains the choices that matter (open or fixed amount, personal or business ID), and the checks that keep the money going to the right account. The UPI QR maker beside the guide follows along, so you can try each example with your own ID.

How to make a UPI QR code for your shop

Take Selvi, who runs a tiffin centre near the bus stand in Villupuram. Most of her bills are between ₹40 and ₹150, and half her customers now pay by UPI. Here is what she does:

1. Find her UPI ID in her payments app (the steps are below).
2. Type it into the UPI QR code generator, with the name “Selvi Tiffin Centre”.
3. Leave the amount at 0, so each customer types their own bill.
4. Print it as a small counter stand, and stick a copy on the wall by the cash box.
5. Test it before the morning rush (the checks are further down).

That is all. The QR is just a picture of a pay link. It costs nothing to make, and making it does not create any account, fee or contract. The money still moves the normal UPI way: from the customer’s bank straight to Selvi’s.

Where to find your UPI ID. It looks like name@bankhandle, and every UPI app shows it:

• In a payments app (Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm and others): open your profile or the QR icon. The ID is written under your name or your own QR.
• In your bank’s app: look under UPI or BHIM UPI, then “My UPI IDs” or profile.

If you have more than one UPI ID, pick the one linked to the bank account where you want the shop’s money. In our examples, selvi.tiffin@okbank is made up; use your own.

Your app already has a QR. Making your own lets you put your shop name on it, print it at the right size, and choose an amount.

UPI QR code with amount, or without?

There are two kinds, and the difference matters at a counter.

QR type	What the customer does	Best for
Open amount (static)	Scans, types the bill, pays	Shop counters, stalls, any changing bill
Fixed amount	Scans, sees the amount, only confirms	One set price: a monthly fee, an invoice, a ticket

NPCI’s own specification describes the open kind: a small shop prints a QR with only its UPI ID and name, and the customer enters the amount. That one QR works for every bill.

A fixed-amount QR is handy when the price never changes. Selvi sends a ₹120 QR on WhatsApp to an office that orders the same lunch pack every day, so they only tap Pay. But never put a fixed-amount QR on a counter: a customer with a ₹45 bill would pay ₹120, or give up.

What a UPI QR code holds

A UPI QR code holds one line of text, written the way NPCI, which runs UPI, sets out in its linking specification. Selvi’s open QR holds:

upi://pay?pa=selvi.tiffin@okbank&pn=Selvi%20Tiffin%20Centre&cu=INR

• pa is the UPI ID that gets the money. It is required.
• pn is the name. Also required.
• am is a fixed amount, such as am=120.00, only on a fixed-amount QR.
• cu is the currency, always INR.
• tn is an optional short note, like an invoice number.

There is no bank account number, password or PIN in it. That is why sharing your QR is safe, and also why a fake one is easy to make.

Personal UPI ID or business (merchant) UPI ID?

For a small shop, a personal UPI ID works and is the quickest start.

A business or merchant UPI ID comes from your bank or from a payments company’s business app. These often add things a busy counter needs: a payment alert or sound box, a daily settlement report, and your shop name shown to customers. Google Pay for Business, for example, accepts a business or a personal bank account with a UPI ID and asks for no documents to sign up. Other banks and apps have their own rules, so check with yours.

Either way, banks set a daily UPI limit. Most allow up to ₹1 lakh a day, some less, so a very large bill may need two payments or a bank transfer.

If many customers pay you by UPI, use a separate bank account for the shop. Your daily sales stay apart from personal spending, and your accounts and GST bills are easier.

UPI QR safety: fake stickers and the name check

A UPI QR is easy to copy and easy to fake. Three habits protect you and your customers.

For you, the shop. Look at your stand when you open. Someone can paste a different QR over yours, and the money would go to them all day. A stand behind the counter, or a laminated card in a frame, is harder to cover than a loose sticker.

For your customers. Before paying, the customer’s app shows the name your bank holds for that UPI ID. Ask customers to check it says your shop or your name. Writing “Check the name says Selvi Tiffin Centre” on the stand helps.

For everyone. You never scan a QR or enter your UPI PIN to receive money. NPCI says the PIN is only for sending money, and RBI warns about people who send a QR and say “scan this to get your refund”. Scanning is only ever for paying.

Print a UPI QR stand and test it

Print the QR at least 2.5 cm wide on a counter, larger on a wall. Matt paper or matt lamination scans better than glossy, which reflects tube lights. The UPI QR maker’s Shop stand lays it out in A6, A5 or A4 with your name, “Pay with any UPI app” and your UPI ID written underneath.

Then test, before you print many:

1. Scan it with your own phone and read the name on the pay screen.
2. Pay ₹1 to it from another phone, and check it reaches the right account.
3. Scan it from a customer’s distance in your shop’s light.

The same test-before-you-print habit applies to product labels; our guide on how to make a barcode covers that side of the counter.

Questions

How do I make a UPI QR code for my shop for free?

Find your UPI ID in your payments or bank app, type it with your shop name into a free UPI QR generator, leave the amount open, and print it. Scan it yourself and pay ₹1 to it before you put it on the counter.

How do I get a UPI QR code sticker for my shop?

Your bank or a payments app’s business service may send a printed stand after you sign up. You can also print your own today: make the QR, print it on matt paper or card, and laminate it. Check it every morning so nobody pastes another QR over it.

Can I make a UPI QR code with a fixed amount?

Yes. Add the amount when you make it, and the payer only confirms. Use it for one set price, like a fee or an invoice, never on a counter where bills change.

Is it safe to share my UPI QR code?

Yes. It holds only your UPI ID, your name and, if you choose, an amount and a note. It has no account number, PIN or password, and nobody can take money from you with it.

Do I need a business account for a UPI QR code?

No. A personal UPI ID works for a small shop. A business or merchant ID from your bank or a payments app adds alerts, reports and sound boxes, and some services accept a personal bank account for it too.

Why does a customer’s app show a different name?

UPI apps show the name your bank has for the UPI ID, not the words printed on your stand. If it shows someone else’s name, do not let customers pay: the QR may have been replaced.