How to get paid by QR code when you sell at the market

Mama Nzuzi sells grilled fish and chikwangue near the Marché de la Liberté. Her customers increasingly want to pay from their phone, but she does not want a card machine she has to charge, cannot fix and cannot read. What she needs is one code on the wall and a sound she can trust. This is how to do that.

What you need

• A phone that can run BitriPay (Android or iPhone) or the web app in a browser.
• A BitriPay account. A personal account is enough to start; switch to a merchant account later if you want a sales dashboard, staff logins or a point-of-sale screen.
• A printed copy of your receive QR code from the Receive page. Laminate it or put it in a plastic sleeve; it never changes.

Step 1: print your QR code

Open BitriPay, tap Receive and then Enlarge. Print it, or ask an agent to print it for you. The same code also works as a link (bitripay.app/u/yourtag), so a customer with no camera can type it.

If you want the customer to see the amount before paying, use Point of sale on a merchant account: you type the amount, the phone shows a one-time code, the customer scans and the amount is already filled in.

Step 2: know the sound

When a payment arrives the app plays a loud alarm and vibrates for several seconds, even in a noisy market. The screen shows the amount in large numbers with a green tick and the payer's name. If you did not hear the sound, the money did not arrive; do not hand over the goods on the strength of a screenshot from the customer's phone.

You can test the sound under Settings → Preferences → Test alert.

Step 3: let people pay without the app

A customer who is not on BitriPay scans the same code with their phone camera. It opens a checkout page where they can pay by card, mobile money or bank transfer. You still receive balance, and the sound still plays. The fees they see are shown before they confirm.

Step 4: turn balance into cash, or spend it

• Cash: go to Agents & cash, choose an agent close to you and the amount, approve with your fingerprint and show the agent the code. The agent hands over the cash when the app shows the payout as settled. Never hand over your phone.
• Stock: pay your wholesaler by scanning their QR code, or by sending to their @tag or phone number.
• Airtime and bills: from the Services menu, with no extra fee.

Step 5: keep it safe

• Set a transaction PIN and turn on fingerprint or face approval. Nobody can move your money without your finger on your phone.
• BitriPay staff and agents never ask for your PIN.
• If your phone is lost, sign in on any other phone and freeze the account, or ask an agent to call support with you.

A note on what your balance is

Your balance is electronic money backed one-to-one by safeguarded funds where BitriPay is authorised, and the app labels it clearly if a market is still in sandbox. You can read how that works in our safeguarding of funds page.

When a merchant account is worth it

Move to a merchant account when you have more than one seller on the stall, want daily sales totals, or want customers to pay a fixed amount they cannot change. It adds a point-of-sale screen, payment links you can send on WhatsApp, and a settlement schedule to your bank or mobile money wallet.