Satispay QR

Overview

Satispay QR is the proprietary QR-code payment format used by the Satispay fintech wallet. Unlike most European mobile wallets that build on the EMVCo Merchant-Presented Mode (MPM) specification, Satispay uses its own opaque, proprietary QR payload — only the Satispay app can decode and process its codes [1][2].

As of 2025, Satispay operates in Italy, Spain, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands with 5.5M+ registered users and 400K+ active merchants, making it one of the largest non-bank digital wallets in Europe [3][4]. The app was founded in 2013 in Cuneo, Italy, by Giovanni Dalmasso, Luca Pinta, and Alessandro Brignone, and became a unicorn in 2022 with a €2.4B valuation [3][4].

Satispay's QR codes are dynamic for online payments and static for P2P transfers, and the app integrates with PagoPA (Italy's public payments platform) for tax and utility bill payments [2].

History

2013 — Satispay is founded in Cuneo, Italy, by Giovanni Dalmasso, Luca Pinta, and Alessandro Brignone [3]. The founding team previously worked at Google and McKinsey.

2014 — Satispay launches in Italy as a mobile payment app focused on merchant QR payments and P2P transfers [3].

2016 — Satispay raises €4.6M Series A from TCV and other investors. The company begins expanding its merchant network across Italian cities [3].

2019 — Satispay reaches 1M users. The app adds P2P transfers, online payments, and integration with Italian public services (PagoPA) [3].

2020–2021 — Satispay expands to Spain and begins building its super-app features including savings products, loyalty rewards, and BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) [3].

2022 — Satispay becomes a unicorn with a €2.4B valuation after a funding round led by TCV. The company reaches 3.5M users and 200K merchants [3][4].

2023 — Satispay launches in France. The app adds investment products (Satispay Fondi) and a co-branded Mastercard debit card [3].

November 2024 — Satispay raises €60M in a Series D round, reaching a €3.6B valuation. The company adds Satispay Plus (BNPL) and Paga in 3 (instant savings) products [4].

2025 — Satispay reaches 5.5M users. The company generates €46M in revenue (2024) and employs 782 people, planning 400 additional hires [4]. Expansion to additional European markets continues.

Technical specification

QR format: Satispay uses a proprietary opaque payload — unlike EMVCo MPM (which defines a standardized TLV structure), Satispay's QR codes encode an application-specific token that only the Satispay app can decode [2]. The payload format is not publicly documented.

QR types:

• Merchant QR (static): Printed at POS terminals; encoded with a unique merchant identifier and optional amount
• Dynamic QR (online): Generated per-transaction for e-commerce checkout
• P2P QR (static): Generated by one user for another; encodes a recipient token

Payment flow:

1. Customer scans merchant QR with Satispay app (or merchant scans customer's P2P QR)
2. Satispay app decodes the proprietary payload and displays transaction details
3. Customer confirms payment in-app (PIN or biometric authentication)
4. Settlement occurs between Satispay and the merchant's acquiring bank

Security:

• SCA (Strong Customer Authentication) compliant under PSD2
• Biometric authentication (fingerprint/Face ID)
• Tokenized bank account connections (no card details stored)
• Weekly budget controls for spending limits

Pricing:

• Merchants: 1% flat fee + €0.20 per transaction for in-person payments; 1.5% + €0.20 for e-commerce
• P2P transfers: free
• Customer account: free (direct bank account connection, no card needed)

Use cases

Retail POS payments — The primary use case. Customers scan or are scanned at 400K+ merchants across Italy, Spain, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Satispay achieves a 91% conversion rate at POS, significantly higher than the industry average [2].

P2P transfers — Users send money to friends and family using phone numbers as identifiers. Transfers are instant and free.

E-commerce checkout — Satispay integrates with online merchants as a payment option, offering dynamic QR codes for one-click checkout.

Public service payments (Italy) — Satispay integrates with PagoPA for tax payments (F24 forms), utility bills, and municipal fees — making it one of the few private wallets with direct PagoPA integration [2].

Mobile top-ups — Users can recharge mobile phone credit directly through the app.

Implementations

Satispay app (iOS/Android) — The primary implementation. Available on the App Store and Google Play. Features biometric authentication, budget controls, and direct bank account connections (no debit/credit card required).

Satispay Plus — BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) feature allowing purchases in installments.

Satispay Fondi — Investment product offering mutual fund portfolios.

Satispay Mastercard — Co-branded debit card linked to the Satispay account balance.

PPRO integration — Satispay is integrated via the PPRO payment gateway, enabling merchant acceptance beyond direct Satispay integrations [2].

No public GitHub repositories — Satispay's QR payload is proprietary and closed-source. No encoder/decoder libraries are publicly available.

Comparison

Feature	Satispay QR	EMVCo MPM (Pix, DuitNow, etc.)	Bizum QR	Payconiq QR
QR format	Proprietary (opaque)	Standardized TLV (EMVCo)	Proprietary	EMVCo MPM
Interoperable	No (Satispay-only)	Yes (any EMVCo-compliant app)	No (Bizum-only)	No (Payconiq-only)
Users	5.5M+	Varies by country	40M+ (ES)	7M+ (BE/LU)
P2P	Yes	Varies	Yes	Yes
E-commerce	Yes	Varies	Limited	Limited
Card integration	Satispay Mastercard	N/A (bank/rail-dependent)	Yes (existing debit)	No
BNPL	Satispay Plus	N/A	No	No
Investments	Satispay Fondi	N/A	N/A	No
PSP/EMI license	Luxembourg CSSF	N/A (bank-dependent)	Bank consortium	Payconiq PB

When to choose Satispay: When you want a super-app wallet with integrated banking features (investments, BNPL, card) and don't need interoperability with other wallets. Best for merchants who want high conversion rates (91%) and access to the Satispay user base.

When to choose EMVCo MPM: When you need interoperability across multiple wallet providers — the standard allows any EMVCo-compliant app to scan any EMVCo MPM QR code.

Fun facts

• 91% conversion rate at POS — Satispay claims a 91% payment conversion rate at merchant terminals, significantly higher than card payments (typically 60–80%), attributed to the frictionless one-tap confirmation flow [2].

• Founded in a small Italian city — Satispay was founded in Cuneo, a city of ~55,000 people in northwest Italy — not in Milan or Rome, the typical fintech hubs [3].

• Ukrainian refugees — Satispay offered free services and waived fees for Ukrainian refugees in Italy during the 2022–2024 conflict [3].

Status

Active and expanding [3][4]:

• 5.5M+ registered users across 5 countries
• 400K+ active merchants
• €46M revenue (2024)
• 782 employees, 400+ planned hires
• EMI licensed in Luxembourg (CSSF)
• PSD2/SCA compliant
• New product launches ongoing (Satispay Plus BNPL, Paga in 3, Fondi investments)
• Expanding merchant acceptance via PPRO integrations across 20+ EU countries

Sources

Deployments

Found in the following country reports (grep across reports/countries/):

• IT — IT-italy.md