Initiating digital payment to a merchant via a payment app requires users to scan a code identifying the merchant’s payment identifier. Scanning QR codes requires explicit user action, and can be time-consuming, cumbersome, and error-prone, especially in busy stores. The absence of prominently displayed QR codes at some merchant establishments further complicates the process. This disclosure describes techniques that improve the process of initiating digital payments to a merchant. With user permission, location-based triggers are used to determine likely payment intent and automatically provide a suitable prompt to the user, thus eliminating the need for manual scan of QR codes. The merchant payment address can also be automatically identified, and multi-merchant payment prompts provided when appropriate
