Dateline: Matera, Payfinia and Solana Foundation, standards demonstration, 19 October 2026

Matera, Payfinia and Solana Foundation held the first live public demonstration of X9.150, a US QR code payment standard approved in July 2026, at Money20/20 USA on 19 October 2026, showing one invoice code that a customer could pay over the FedNow Service, the RTP network or with USDC on Solana. The release, Fintechbits notes, names a single credit union, Star One Credit Union, that has tested the X9.150 QR code payment standard workflow, and no bank, biller or ERP vendor committed to a production launch; the participants say plainly that the demo is not a product launch. The consortium is asking more banks, credit unions, fintechs and merchants to pilot it.

How the X9.150 QR code payment standard works

X9.150 is a data format, not a payment network. The ANSI listing for X9.150-2026 describes it as defining the structure, content and security requirements for merchant-presented, dynamically generated payment QR codes used to initiate push payments in the United States. According to the consortium release on BusinessWire, it gives banks, payment networks and software providers one common format for QR code payments, which can then route over FedNow, RTP, ACH credit transfers, the Zelle Network or stablecoins. A business puts one code on an invoice. The customer scans it with whatever app their bank or wallet provides and pays over whichever rail that app supports.

In the Las Vegas demo, a small business sent an invoice carrying an X9.150 code. The payer scanned it either with a credit union banking app or with the Squads Altitude wallet to pay in USDC. Funds arrived within seconds, and the business’s ERP marked the invoice paid automatically.

Matera, which helped build Brazil’s Pix ecosystem, released the first open-source X9.150 reference software. Payfinia, which provides instant payment services to nearly 30 community financial institutions, built the compliance workflow and a plug-in for digital banking platforms. Solana ran the settlement rail for the stablecoin leg.

The Pix comparison and its limits

The release leans on Brazil, where it says one common QR code became the country’s most widely used everyday payment method within a few years. That is the right reference, but it understates the difference. Pix is a single scheme run by Brazil’s central bank. X9.150 is a standard that sits on top of several competing US rails, in a market where card networks pay rewards and billers are comfortable with ACH, and the release does not say any regulator will require banks to support it. Fintechbits’ explainer on pay by bank explains how account-to-account payments work over instant rails, which is the plumbing X9.150 codes would sit on.

Fintechbits analysis

Fintechbits analysis

Why one credit union is not yet adoption

I like the design. A rail-neutral format fixes something that annoys both sides of a bill payment: US billers do not want to pick between FedNow, RTP and Zelle, and payers do not want to type routing numbers. Matera open-sourcing the reference code is the most useful step in the announcement. Carlos Netto, Matera’s co-founder and CEO for North America, said in the release that a standard only one company can build “isn’t really a standard,” and he has a point.

The evidence of adoption is thin, though. One credit union has tested the workflow. Zelle is listed as a consortium participant, yet the demo ran over FedNow, RTP and USDC, not Zelle. No ERP vendor is named, even though automatic invoice reconciliation is the main benefit for businesses. The USDC option is interesting, and it fits the push by card networks into stablecoin settlement that Fintechbits covered in Visa Direct’s USDC prefunding. For a small business, though, the question is whether its own bank’s app can scan the code, and the release cannot answer that.

Frequently asked questions

What is the X9.150 QR code payment standard?

X9.150 is a US standard for QR code payments, approved in July 2026 through ANSI’s Accredited Standards Committee X9. It gives banks and payment providers one format for codes that can be paid over FedNow, RTP, ACH credit transfers, the Zelle Network or stablecoins.

Who took part in the X9.150 demonstration?

Matera supplied open-source reference software, Payfinia built the QR workflow for community financial institutions, and Solana Foundation and Squads provided the USDC payment option. The consortium also lists Early Warning Services’ Zelle Network as a participant.

How close is X9.150 to real use?

The release, Fintechbits notes, names only Star One Credit Union as having tested the workflow, and no bank, biller or ERP vendor has committed to production. The participants describe the demo as not a product launch and are seeking pilot partners.

What to Watch Next

The test is a named production launch. A regional bank or a large biller, such as a utility, putting X9.150 codes on real invoices would show the standard has moved past conference demos. The second signal is Zelle. If Early Warning Services confirms that Zelle-connected banking apps will scan X9.150 codes, the reach of the standard jumps from a handful of credit unions to most of the US banking market.

Why this matters

Fintechbits notes the X9.150 release names one credit union, Star One, that has tested the workflow, and no bank, biller or ERP vendor ready for production. The standard lets one QR code on an invoice be paid over FedNow, RTP, ACH, Zelle or USDC, with automatic reconciliation. A rail-neutral format solves a real problem for US billers. Adoption is the risk, because nothing in the release obliges banks to support it.

Primary sources

businesswire.com | PRESS RELEASE | https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261019530143/en/Matera-Payfinia-and-Solana-Foundation-Demonstrate-New-U.S.-QR-Code-Payment-Standard-at-Money2020

webstore.ansi.org | COMPANY WEBSITE | https://webstore.ansi.org/standards/ascx9/ansix91502026