Initiating a Payment
Overview
This document outlines the lifecycle of completing a Payment using a QR Code within Colombia’s Bre-B ecosystem. It integrates in the POS system with Passport’s PaaS platform, the Bre-B Node, and participating financial institutions.
Intended for:
- Technical teams implementing API integrations.
- Product teams evaluating user experience.
- Business stakeholders assessing real-time payment strategies.
Flow Overview
The image below summarizes the steps from the QR Code generation request, through to the Merchant Webhook confirmation
Transaction Diagram Flow
QR Code Payment Steps
| Step | Action | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | QR Request | PoS | PaaS Platform |
| 2 | QR Generation | PaaS Platform | Bre-B Node |
| 3 | QR Presented to Customer | PoS | Buyer |
| 4 | Payment Initiated | Buyer | Customer's Bank |
| 5 | Payment Routed | Customer's Bank | Bre-B Node -> Bank Sponsor |
| 6 | Incoming Payment Notification | Bank Sponsor | PaaS Platform |
| 7 | Webhook Sent to the PoS | PaaS Platform | PoS |
Flow Description
The PaaS platform does not automatically connect to the PoS system; the Fintech or provider must create the connection.
Step 1: QR Creation Request
The merchant’s POS system requests a dynamic QR code from the PaaS Platform for a new payment session.
Step 2: QR Code Generation
The PaaS Platform interacts with the Bre-B Node to generate the QR code, which includes a unique Bre-B key and payment metadata.
Step 3: QR Presented to the Customer
The QR is displayed on the POS for the customer to scan using the Bre-B section of their mobile banking app.
Step 4: Payment Initiation
The banking app extracts payment information from the QR and initiates the debit from the buyer’s account.
Step 5: Payment Routing
The customers bank routes the payment through the Bre-B Node, which forwards it to the Sponsor Bank.
Step 6: Incoming Payment Notification
The Sponsor Bank credits the merchant account and notifies the PaaS Platform.
Step 7: Webhook Confirmation
The PaaS Platform sends a webhook to the merchant’s POS confirming the payment so the transaction can be finalized.
QR Code Validation
Passport provides in the Products > QR Codes section, the history of all generated QR codes. In the details, you can find the image converted from base64 format to the actual image. You can use any QR code reader to validate the data. For more details refer to the document QR Codes.
Example of QR code presented by the dashboard