Encyclopedia Bitcoin basics · Entry 178
Bitcoin payment requests and QR codes: what a scan actually tells you
In this article
At a glance
Key facts
Read the decoded request
A request can provide an on-chain destination, a human-readable label and a message. Modern instructions can also describe a Lightning invoice or offer. The application decides which supported route to present; do not assume every scanned Bitcoin request necessarily means an on-chain payment.
BIP-321 permits a URI without a normal on-chain address when it supplies another payment instruction. A wallet that cannot handle a required feature should not silently make a different payment.
A small decimal can still be misread
An illustrative amount of 0.0005 BTC equals 50,000 satoshis. The URI uses decimal BTC even if the wallet screen prefers sats. Its amount must not include a thousands-separating comma. Compare the normalized amount the wallet displays with the invoice you intend to pay.
A label such as a shop name is merely supplied text. A malicious request can carry a convincing name alongside an attacker’s destination.
Check both the request and the signing screen
Obtain the request from the intended recipient and inspect its contents after scanning. For a hardware wallet, compare supported transaction details on the device with the intended payment. The device confirms the transaction it will sign, not the truth of the request’s business story.
If a code is unreadable or unsupported, ask for a compatible request. Editing unfamiliar parameters by hand risks changing amount or payment semantics.
Direct answers
Questions people ask
Is a QR code safer than copying an address?
It can reduce typing errors, but the code can still encode a substituted destination or misleading amount. Both methods require you to check the decoded request against an authenticated source.
Does scanning the code send the bitcoin?
Scanning usually imports instructions. BIP-321 requires user authorization before acting on a payment URI; the wallet should let you inspect and approve the payment rather than treating the scan as proof of consent.
Inspect the evidence
The answer and key facts have stable claim links. These records retain the scope and qualification when reused.
A Bitcoin payment QR code is an encoding of text, often a payment URI containing a destination, amount and optional instructions. Scanning helps transfer those fields; it does not prove who created the request or that payment has happened. Review the wallet’s decoded request before approval. BIP-321 updates the older BIP-21 URI scheme, but actual support depends on the wallet.
Educational explanation. Product-specific behavior is scoped to the cited documentation, checked 2026-10-02.
Scope: Bitcoin · data through 2026-10-02. Verification: verified · 2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z.
Link to this claimAmount unit: The URI amount field uses decimal BTC
Scope: Bitcoin · data through 2026-10-02. Verification: verified · 2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z.
Link to this claimIdentity: A label is not recipient authentication
Scope: Bitcoin · data through 2026-10-02. Verification: verified · 2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z.
Link to this claimRevision history
- — First publication after primary-source research and separate automated verification.
On the Send and check a Bitcoin payment path · Learn next: How to send Bitcoin: review the destination, amount and fee
Source register
Sources and references
Retrieval dates and locators are recorded individually.- URI SchemeBitcoin Improvement Proposals
Successor payment URI scheme and wallet-dependent payment instructions.
Locator: General rules for handling (important!); General Format; Query Keys; Transfer amount; Forward compatibility; Backward compatibility · Version / scope: Pinned BIPs revision · Retrieved: 2026-10-02T18:53:54.108ZOpen source - URI SchemeBitcoin Improvement Proposals
Historical Bitcoin payment URI fields, amount units and required-parameter handling.
Locator: Superseded by BIP 321; Specification; Rationale; Forward compatibility · Version / scope: Pinned BIPs revision · Retrieved: 2026-10-02T18:53:53.954ZOpen source - Trezor’s Trusted DisplayTrezor
Manufacturer explanation of device display checks and the limits of a host-computer screen.
Locator: Trusted display article: on-device verification steps and limits of what the device verifies · Retrieved: 2026-10-02T18:53:56.900ZOpen source
Research and drafting use AI assistance. A separate automated review checks claims against primary sources; no external expert or named human review is implied. Publication, substantive editing, source retrieval and verification are recorded separately. This version was independently checked by an automated reviewer on 2 October 2026.
Editorial method and correctionsDegrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Bitcoin payment requests and QR codes: what a scan actually tells you.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/bitcoin-payment-requests-qr-codes/