# UPI QR code not detected by the payment app

> Ranked causes — the payload is not a valid upi:// link (pa is the one mandatory parameter), the specific app rejects formatting it dislikes, the code is BharatQR rather than UPI, or the image is a degraded screenshot-of-a-screenshot. Decode the code, read the string, and regenerate from a spec-correct builder.

Source: https://useqr.app/docs/troubleshooting/upi-qr-code-not-detected-by-app · Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · UseQR is free forever, MIT licensed, no signup.

---

## First, see what the app sees

Decode the code with our [scanner](/scan) and read the raw string. A working UPI QR
contains a `upi://pay` link, and a correct one looks like this:

```
upi://pay?pa=merchant@upi&pn=Chai%20Point&am=149.99&tn=Order%2042&cu=INR
```

Everything below assumes you have this string in front of you. The causes, ranked by how
often they are the actual problem:

## 1. The payload is malformed

**`pa` is the one truly mandatory parameter** — the payee's virtual payment address. A
payload without it (or with a URL, a phone number, or plain text instead of a `upi://`
link) is simply not a UPI code, and payment apps ignore it rather than erroring. Common
malformations, all visible in the decoded string:

- Missing or misspelt scheme: `upi:pay?…` or `UPI//pay?…` instead of `upi://pay?…`
- A `pa` value that is not a valid VPA — the shape is `name@handle`, like
  `shopname@okaxis`
- Unencoded spaces or `&` inside `pn` or `tn`, which break parameter parsing
- An amount with more than **2 decimal places** or with commas (`am=1,499`)

The full parameter set — `pa`, `pn`, `am`, `tn`, `mc`, `tr`, `cu` — is documented in the
[UPI QR code format](/docs/payments/upi-qr-code-format) guide.

## 2. App-specific parsing quirks

The NPCI spec is one thing; each app's parser is another. Apps differ in how strictly they
treat percent-encoding, unknown extra parameters, and reference formats (`tr` should be at
most 35 characters of letters, digits, dots and dashes). A payload that one app tolerates,
another rejects silently. The defence is not to chase individual apps but to emit a
minimal, strictly spec-shaped payload — which is what UseQR's
[UPI generator](/upi-qr-code) does, validating the VPA shape, percent-encoding the name
and note, capping the amount at 2 decimals, and always appending `cu=INR`.

## 3. It is BharatQR, not UPI

India has two merchant QR systems. UPI QR is the `upi://` deep link above.
[BharatQR](/glossary/bharatqr) is an EMVCo TLV payload that also carries card rails.
They look identical printed on a standee, but they are different formats — an app scanning
for one may not accept the other, and bank-issued BharatQR standees are a common source of
"my app doesn't detect it" reports. The decoded string settles it instantly: `upi://pay?…`
is UPI; a long digit-led TLV string starting `000201…` is EMVCo. The differences are
unpacked in [BharatQR explained](/docs/payments/bharatqr-explained).

## 4. The image has been degraded

A UPI code that circulates as a WhatsApp-forwarded screenshot of a photo of a printout has
been recompressed several times. Each pass adds artefacts at module edges;
eventually the finder patterns survive but the data does not, and apps see "a QR-like
image" they cannot decode. The same applies to codes shrunk into low-resolution images.
This is a generic failure — see
[image compression breaking codes](/docs/troubleshooting/qr-code-broken-by-image-compression) —
but payment codes suffer it most because they get reshared casually. Regenerate from the
source and export clean, or print from SVG.

## The rebuild

Enter the VPA and payee name in the [UPI generator](/upi-qr-code) — generation is
client-side, so payment details never leave the browser — then verify by decoding the
result and, before printing a standee, test-scan from at least two different UPI apps.
Printing guidance is in [printing a UPI standee](/docs/payments/printing-a-upi-qr-standee).

## FAQ

### Why does my UPI QR code not scan in GPay or PhonePe?
Decode it and read the string. If it is not a well-formed upi://pay link with a valid pa parameter, apps ignore it silently. Other frequent causes are a BharatQR (EMVCo) payload rather than UPI, or an image degraded by repeated screenshots.

### Which UPI parameters are mandatory?
Only pa, the payee VPA, is strictly mandatory; pn (payee name) is expected by apps in practice. Amount (am), note (tn), merchant code (mc) and reference (tr) are optional. A currency of INR (cu=INR) should always be present.

### Is a bank-issued shop QR the same as a UPI QR?
Often it is BharatQR — an EMVCo TLV payload carrying card rails as well as UPI — not a upi:// link. Most Indian payment apps handle both, but not all handle both equally, which explains codes that work in one app and not another.

### Why does a screenshot of my UPI code fail?
Each screenshot-and-reshare cycle recompresses the image and erodes module edges until the data is unrecoverable. Share the original exported file, or regenerate the code, rather than forwarding photos of photos.

## Try it

- https://useqr.app/upi
- https://useqr.app/scan
- https://useqr.app/validate