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Standards/sep-4-1-qr

SEP 4.1 QR

TypeQR Code
PrimaryUA
MentionedUA
Completeness94%high

Overview

SEP 4.1 is Ukraine's new-generation System of Electronic Payments with instant-transfers functionality, launched 1 December 2024 by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) [1, 2, [ua-cro]]. SEP (Система електронних платежів — System of Electronic Payments) is Ukraine's foundational interbank-payment infrastructure; SEP 4.1 represents a major upgrade adding 24/7 instant-transfer capability + QR-code + Deeplink payment initiation. PrivatBank was the first bank to adopt the instant-transfer feature — leveraging its position as Ukraine's largest commercial bank.

The structural context is critical: SEP 4.1 launched during Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia (since 24 February 2022 full-scale invasion). The NBU's payment-system modernisation during wartime is structurally remarkable — illustrating Ukrainian institutional resilience. By March 2025, 20 direct participants connected to SEP instant-transfer including NBU + 19 banks. December 2024 alone: 11,500 instant payments; first 2 months of 2025: 55,200 payments totaling UAH 543 million. Goal: all systemic banks to implement instant-transfer in first half 2025. The European Payments Council has documented "Payments in wartime: the story of the National Bank of Ukraine" — recognising the structural significance of Ukraine maintaining + modernising payment infrastructure through active war. SEP 4.1 represents one of the most consequential national-payment-system launches in any wartime context globally.

History

Background — Ukrainian payment landscape pre-war UA:

  • National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) — central bank.
  • SEP (System of Electronic Payments) — foundational interbank infrastructure (since 1990s).
  • PrivatBank — Ukraine's largest commercial bank (nationalised 2016).

24 February 2022 — Russia's full-scale invasion [epc]:

  • Wartime context.

Ukraine maintains + modernises payment infrastructure through war [epc]:

  • NBU continues payment-system development.
  • Structural resilience.

1 December 2024 — SEP 4.1 launches with instant-transfer functionality [1]:

  • New SEP version goes live.
  • 24/7 instant-transfer capability.
  • QR-code + Deeplink payment initiation.

PrivatBank first bank to adopt [2]:

  • Leverages largest-bank position.

December 2024 — 11.5K instant payments [2]:

  • Initial month volume.

January-February 2025 — 55.2K payments / UAH 543M [2]:

  • Rapid early growth.

March 19, 2025 — 20 direct participants (NBU + 19 banks) [2]:

  • Bank-network expansion.

H1 2025 goal — all systemic banks to implement [2]:

  • NBU expansion plan.

Technical specification

SEP 4.1 is NBU-operated next-generation Ukrainian electronic payment system with instant-transfer + QR [1, 2]:

Layer Description
Operator National Bank of Ukraine (NBU)
System name SEP 4.1 (System of Electronic Payments 4.1)
Launch 1 December 2024
Currency UAH (Ukrainian hryvnia)
Availability 24/7
Payment initiation QR codes + Deeplink
First adopter PrivatBank
March 2025 participants 20 (NBU + 19 banks)
Wartime context Maintained + modernised through war

QR + Deeplink [1]:

  • Convenient payment-detail transfer between users.

Use cases

Instant cross-bank transfers (24/7) [1]: Cardinal use.

Merchant QR payments [privatbank]: Via PrivatBank QR for merchants.

Acquiring services for businesses [privatbank-acq]: PrivatBank acquiring.

Government services + tax payments UA: NBU-coordinated.

War-context economic continuity [epc]: Critical infrastructure during war.

Implementations & ecosystem

Operator: NBU.

First adopter: PrivatBank.

March 2025 participants (20): NBU + 19 commercial banks including PrivatBank, Oschadbank, Ukreximbank, Raiffeisen Bank Aval, UkrSibbank, others.

Companion: PrivatBank QR for merchants.

Fun facts

  • Launched during war: 1 December 2024 — Ukraine's ongoing war since 24 February 2022.
  • NBU + EPC documented wartime resilience: "Payments in wartime: the story of the National Bank of Ukraine".
  • PrivatBank first adopter: Ukraine's largest bank pioneering.
  • 24/7 instant: Modern standard.
  • QR codes + Deeplink: Convenient cross-user payment-detail transfer.
  • 11.5K → 55.2K transactions in 2 months: Rapid early growth.
  • 20 participants by March 2025: Substantial early bank-network.
  • NBU + 19 banks: Comprehensive Ukrainian banking-sector participation.

Comparison

Feature SEP 4.1 (UA) mia-qr (MD) ropay (RO) blink (BG) nbs-ips-qr (RS)
Operator NBU (central bank) NBM (central bank) Transfond (bank consortium) BORICA AD NBS (central bank)
Launch 1 Dec 2024 Mar 2024 Nov 2024 2021 22 Oct 2018
Currency UAH MDL RON BGN (+EUR TIPS) RSD
24/7 Yes Yes (24/7/365) <10s <10s <10s
QR Yes (+ Deeplink) 3 QR types EPC reference Mobile Lookup + QR Standardised NBS IPS QR
Context Wartime EU-adjacent EU member EU member Balkan

Status

Active, growing rapidly during war [1, 2]:

  • NBU operator since 1 December 2024.
  • 20 participants (March 2025; NBU + 19 banks).
  • PrivatBank first adopter.
  • QR + Deeplink + 24/7 instant.
  • H1 2025 goal: All systemic banks.

Sources

Deployments

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

source · docs/standards/sep-4-1-qr/index.md