PayPal QR code
The code opens a PayPal payment page with the recipient set and, if you want, an amount. Useful where cards are not accepted and cash is a nuisance: market stalls, small services, collection boxes.
Create a PayPal codePayPal.Me link, optional amount
Editorial teamLast reviewed: 29 October 2026Editorial standards
Short answer
A PayPal.Me link carries your handle and optionally an amount and a currency. It opens in the app or the browser, and the payer still confirms inside PayPal. Print at least 4 cm wide for a counter stand, and never encode anything but your own public payment link.
A printed payment code is one of the few cases where the reader is asked to send money to a stranger behind a square. That makes trust the deciding factor, more than size or design.
The mechanics are simple, and the failure modes are about what the payer sees rather than whether the code scans.
What goes in the code
A PayPal.Me address: paypal.me/yourname, optionally followed by an amount and a currency code. The amount pre-fills the payment, which is right for a fixed price and wrong for a donation.
Only your own public payment link belongs in a printed code. No account numbers, no card data, no email address as a payment target. A code that carries account details is a code that leaks them to every camera pointed at it.
- The public PayPal.Me link, nothing else
- Fixed amount for a known price, no amount for a collection or a tip
- Currency resolved by the link, not assumed by the payer
- One code per purpose, so the payment note means something
What the payer actually sees
On a phone with the app installed, it opens the app. Without the app, a browser page with a login screen, because sending money requires an account. This is where a printed code fails in practice: the person in front of the stand does not have PayPal, or does not remember the password.
That is not a fault in the code. It is the reason a code-only payment setup loses sales. Print a second option beside it, a bank transfer or a card reader, or accept that some customers will walk away.
Amount, currency and the note
A fixed amount removes a question and adds a rigidity: if the customer wants two of something, they must edit the amount, and not every interface makes that obvious. A code with no amount is more flexible and needs a human to type the number correctly.
The note field is what makes reconciliation possible. Keep it short and structured, for example the order number, and keep it consistent with whatever the printed receipt says.
Print and placement
A counter stand is read from 40 to 60 cm, so 4 to 5 cm of edge length. On a market stall sign, 10 cm, because people read it from a step back while deciding.
Matte surfaces beat glossy ones under awnings and at outdoor markets, where reflection is the most common reason a perfectly good code will not read. Lamination or a plastic stand also keeps a printed paper code from turning into a limp rectangle by lunchtime.
What it cannot do
It cannot take a card, it cannot split a bill and it cannot force a payment to complete. It also does not confirm anything: the seller finds out when the money arrives, which is why the note field and a glance at the account matter at a busy stall.
It is also not anonymous in either direction. Both sides see each other in PayPal, which is a feature for buyer protection and a privacy consideration for a private seller.
Questions about payment codes
Does the payer need a PayPal account?
Yes, to send money. That is the main reason a printed PayPal code works for some customers and not others.
Can I put a fixed amount in the code?
Yes, the link supports an amount and a currency. Use it for a fixed price, leave it out for donations and tips.
Is a printed PayPal code safe?
The code only contains your public payment link, which is meant to be shared. The risk is a code someone else printed and placed over yours, so check the physical sign occasionally.
Do I see who paid?
Yes, both parties see each other in PayPal. The payment note is what ties a payment to an order.