LANKAQR-LK-20261008Paying with LANKAQR in Sri Lanka costs the customer nothing, and since 6 April 2026 it also costs small merchants nothing on payments up to Rs. 5,000, under the government's National QR Payment Promotion Programme. Above Rs. 5,000 the merchant fee is capped at 1.0%, and money reaches the merchant's bank account instantly, around the clock. One LANKAQR sticker accepts payments from 28 apps of 22 financial institutions, from ComBank Q+ and BOC SmartPay to FriMi, Genie and iPay. Use is still small, though: the Central Bank counted 460,990 registered merchants at the end of 2025 but only 1.15 million transactions worth Rs. 4.8 billion for the whole year.
What LANKAQR costs and how fast it settles
| Item | Rule in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Customer fee for retail and person-to-person payments | none |
| Merchant fee (MDR), payments up to Rs. 5,000 | 0% since 6 April 2026 |
| Merchant fee, payments above Rs. 5,000, local apps | maximum 1.0% (since 1 January 2025) |
| Merchant fee, foreign apps scanning LANKAQR (UPI, UnionPay, Alipay+) | maximum 1.8% |
| Limit per payment | Rs. 500,000 (raised from Rs. 200,000 on 1 January 2025) |
| Settlement to merchant | instant, 24/7, to the linked bank account |
| Surcharge on customers | prohibited by the Central Bank |
A few payment types work differently: government agencies may add a small fee of around Rs. 10–15 under GovPay, fuel stations are exempt from the merchant fee and may charge the customer a small convenience fee instead, and religious donations are free for both sides. For a shop owner the zero-fee band matters most: most everyday purchases are below Rs. 5,000, so accepting LANKAQR is now cheaper than taking cards.
A seller watches the customer tap a confirmation screen, sees a green tick and hands over the goods. The screen is not the bank. Merchants often release merchandise on a customer's confirmation view, and no credit ever arrives because the transfer was never sent or was already reversed.
The rule that removes the risk is simple: goods change hands only after the money shows in the merchant's own bank app or SMS, so the confirmation comes from the bank rather than the buyer's screen. That one habit closes the most common QR loss.
If I were behind the counter, I would treat the customer's screen as advertising, not as payment. The credit in my own app is the only green light, and no sale is worth a reverse.
Checking the payee name in the app against the shop before confirming adds a second layer, because a swapped sticker sends money to the wrong wallet.
Which apps can pay
LANKAQR runs on LankaPay's CEFTS and JustPay rails, and LankaPay itself has no consumer app; you pay with a certified bank or wallet app. Bank apps include ComBank Q+ and ComBank Flash, BOC SmartPay, HNB SOLO, Sampath WePay, SeylanPay, NDB NeosPay, DFCC Pay, People's Pay and SDB UPay. Wallets and fintech apps include FriMi from Nations Trust Bank, Genie and eZ Cash from Dialog, iPay from LOLC Finance and mCash from SLT-Mobitel. Because the standard is interoperable, a customer of one bank can pay a merchant whose sticker was issued by another, which is why the same code works at shops, three-wheelers and market stalls. Visitors can pay LANKAQR merchants from some foreign apps as well; the merchant pays up to 1.8% on those.
Why usage is lower than the merchant count
The Central Bank's payments bulletin shows that LANKAQR volumes actually fell in 2025: 1.15 million transactions against 1.184 million in 2024, and Rs. 4.797 billion against Rs. 5.295 billion. Of the 2025 payments, 672,000 were between customers and merchants of the same bank and 478,000 went between different banks. With more than 460,000 registered merchants, that is only a few transactions per merchant per year, which explains why the government removed the merchant fee on small payments in April 2026 to push everyday use.
QR scams and how to avoid them
The most common tricks are fake QR stickers pasted over a shop's real code so that payments go to a fraudster, fake payment confirmation screenshots or SMS shown to a seller, and fake messages about traffic fines that lead to cloned GovPay pages asking for card numbers and OTPs. Merchants should hand over goods only after the credit appears in their own bank app or SMS, and should check their sticker regularly for overlays. Customers should check that the payee name shown in the app matches the shop before confirming. Since 2024 the Central Bank requires payment apps to check that the SIM in the phone matches the number registered with the bank, which makes taking over an account harder. If a payment goes wrong, complain to your bank first and then to the Central Bank's Financial Consumer Relations Department. Other ways to move money are covered in our guide to digital wallets in Sri Lanka.
Before you rely on any QR sticker, run these checks yourself.
- Confirm the credit lands in your bank app or SMS before the customer leaves with the goods.
- Match the payee name in the app to your shop sign before anyone confirms.
- Look at the sticker for glue marks or a second layer glued over it.
- Note the phone number on your bank app SMS and keep it for the day a claim fails.