Open-source Java library to generate and decode Swiss QR bills (jointly developed with the .NET version).
Try it yourself and create a QR bill. The code for this demonstration (React UI and RESTful service) can be found on GitHub as well.
This library implements version 2.2 and 2.3 of the Swiss Implementation Guidelines QR-bill from November 20, 2023, and Swico Syntax Definition (S1) from November 23, 2018.
The Swiss QR bill is the QR code based payment format that started on 30 June, 2020. The payment slip is sent electronically or presented online in most cases. It can still be printed at the bottom of an invoice or added to the invoice on a separate sheet. The payer scans the QR code with his/her mobile banking app to initiate the payment and then just needs to confirm it.
If the invoicing party adds structured bill information (VAT rates, payment conditions etc.) to the QR bill, the payer can automate the booking in accounts payable. The invoicing party can also automate the accounts receivable processing as the payment includes all relevant data including a reference number. The Swiss QR bill is convenient for the payer and payee.
More examples can be found in the Wiki
The Swiss QR bill library:
- generates QR bills as PDF, SVG and PNG files
- adds QR bills to existing PDF files
- generates payment slips (210mm by 105mm), payment part (148mm by 105mm), A4 sheets or QR code only
- is multilingual: German, French, Italian, English, Romansh
- validates the invoice data and provides detailed validation information
- adds or retrieves structured bill information (according to Swico S1)
- parses the invoice data embedded in the QR code
- is easy to use (see example below)
- is small and fast
- is free – even for commercial use (MIT License)
- has only two dependencies (PDFBox and Nayuki's QR code generator)
- is available on Maven Central
The QR bill generator is available at Maven Central. To use it, just add it to your Maven or Gradle project.
If you are using Maven, add the below dependency to your pom.xml:
<dependency>
<groupId>net.codecrete.qrbill</groupId>
<artifactId>qrbill-generator</artifactId>
<version>[3.3.1,3.999999]</version>
</dependency>
If you are using Gradle, add the below dependency to your build.gradle file:
compile group: 'net.codecrete.qrbill', name: 'qrbill-generator', version: '3.3.1+'
To generate a QR bill, you first fill in the Bill data structure and then call QRBill.generate:
package net.codecrete.qrbill.examples;
import net.codecrete.qrbill.generator.Address;
import net.codecrete.qrbill.generator.Bill;
import net.codecrete.qrbill.generator.QRBill;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
public class QRBillExample {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Setup bill
Bill bill = new Bill();
bill.setAccount("CH4431999123000889012");
bill.setAmountFromDouble(199.95);
bill.setCurrency("CHF");
// Set creditor
Address creditor = new Address();
creditor.setName("Robert Schneider AG");
creditor.setStreet("Rue du Lac");
creditor.setHouseNo("1268/2/22");
creditor.setPostalCode("2501");
creditor.setTown("Biel");
creditor.setCountryCode("CH");
bill.setCreditor(creditor);
// more bill data
bill.setReference("210000000003139471430009017");
bill.setUnstructuredMessage("Abonnement für 2020");
// Set debtor
Address debtor = new Address();
debtor.setName("Pia-Maria Rutschmann-Schnyder");
debtor.setStreet("Grosse Marktgasse");
debtor.setHouseNo("28");
debtor.setPostalCode("9400");
debtor.setTown("Rorschach");
debtor.setCountryCode("CH");
bill.setDebtor(debtor);
// Set output format
BillFormat format = new BillFormat();
format.setGraphicsFormat(GraphicsFormat.SVG);
format.setOutputSize(OutputSize.QR_BILL_ONLY);
format.setLanguage(Language.DE);
bill.setFormat(format);
// Generate QR bill
byte[] svg = QRBill.generate(bill);
// Save QR bill
Path path = Paths.get("qrbill.svg");
try {
Files.write(path, svg);
} catch (IOException e) {
throw new RuntimeException(e);
}
System.out.println("QR bill saved at " + path.toAbsolutePath());
}
}
More code examples can be found in the examples directory.
- QRBill class – generates Swiss QR bill
- Bill class – holds bill data
- Address class – holds address data
- BillFormat class – controls QR bill formatting
- and many more
More information can be found in the Wiki. It's the joint Wiki for the .NET and the Java version.
On November 21, 2025, the QR bill specification 2.3 and further changes in the Swiss payment standards will become effective. The library is ready for these changes:
- QR bills may use an extended character set (Extended Latin instead of a subset of Latin-1). To enable it, use
bill.setCharacterSet(SPSCharacterSet.EXTENDED_LATIN). Do not use it before November 21, 2025. - Payments may no longer use combined address elements (aka unstructured addresses). In the library, the related methods have been marked as deprecated. Use structured addresses instead. Stop using unstructured addresses long before November 21, 2025 or customer will be unable to pay your bills.
If the extended character set is used, it is no longer possible to use the PDF standard font Helvectica for the text as it is restricted to the smaller WinANSI character set. This library will automatically switch to the Liberation Sans font and embed the font subset actually used. SVG and PNG ouput can continue to use other fonts.
The library includes the Liberation Sans font (regular and bold face). It is made available free of charge by Goolge and Red Hat under the SIL Open Font License, Version 1.1. You will likely need to add their copyright and license information to your product. See the license for details.
For the generation of the QR code itself, Nayuki's QR code generator is used.
A .NET version of this library is also available. If you are looking for a library for yet another programming language or for a library with professional services, you might want to check out Services & Tools on MoneyToday.ch.