Swiss QR-Bill Data Explained

A Swiss QR-bill is a payment part with a QR code that holds the creditor, the amount, the reference and the debtor in a fixed text format. When a bank or app rejects one, the cause is usually a combination of fields that the guideline does not allow. This guide goes through the data and the version changes that matter in 2026. It is based on the SIX "Swiss Implementation Guidelines for the QR-bill", version 2.4 of 24 February 2026.

Versions and dates

Version 2.4 is valid from 14 November 2026 and replaces version 2.3 of 21 November 2025, which stays valid until November 2027. The header value inside the QR code is 0200 in both, so it does not tell you which guideline a bill was made for. Version 2.4 brings no technical change for invoicing in Swiss francs. For euro invoices, only the combination of an IBAN with a creditor reference (SCOR) or an IBAN with an unstructured message remains.

The structure

The code is a list of lines in a fixed order. In short:

• Header: SPC (Swiss Payments Code), version 0200, coding 1 (UTF-8 limited to a Latin character set).
• Creditor account: a 21-character IBAN with country code CH or LI, no spaces.
• Creditor: a structured address with type S, name (up to 70), street (up to 70), building number (up to 16), postal code (up to 16), town (up to 35), country (two letters). The older combined address type is no longer permitted.
• Ultimate creditor: seven lines that must stay empty for now.
• Amount and currency: an amount with two decimals and no leading zeros, or empty if the payer chooses; the currency CHF or EUR.
• Debtor: optional, same address form.
• Reference: a reference type and a reference.
• Additional information: an unstructured message and, after the trailer EPD, optional billing information and up to two alternative-procedure lines. Message and billing information together may not exceed 140 characters.

The whole text may be at most 997 characters, the QR code is generated with error correction level M, and printed it measures 46 × 46 mm with a cross in the middle.

IBAN, QR-IBAN and the three reference types

A QR-IBAN is a Swiss or Liechtenstein IBAN whose institution identifier (digits 5 to 9) lies between 30000 and 31999. It tells every bank that a QR reference must come with the payment.

Mixing them is the commonest fault: a QR-IBAN with SCOR or NON, a normal IBAN with QRR, or a QR-IBAN with a QR reference on a euro bill.

Notification bills

A bill that must not be paid, only shown, has the amount 0.00 and a prescribed phrase in the additional information, such as "DO NOT USE FOR PAYMENT" or its German, French, Italian and Romansh equivalents, in capital letters.

Check one

If you also invoice in euro inside the SEPA area, the Add GiroCode to PDF Invoice tool covers the EPC code. The Swiss QR-Bill Reader & Checker decodes a code from a PDF or image, shows each field in plain language and names the rule behind every error, in your browser. It checks the data in the code, not the printed layout, and it does not say whether a QR-bill is mandatory for any invoice. For euro payments in the SEPA area the corresponding code is described in the EPC QR guide.