Since Croatia adopted the euro in 2023, all consumer accounts are now euro (EUR) accounts, making SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) automatic account debits work naturally without any currency conversion. SDD is a common SEPA scheme managed by the European Payments Council, under which the consumer submits a debit authorization (mandate) and the merchant then pulls payment—making it well suited to subscriptions and recurring billing, and a useful alternative for reducing recurring-payment failures caused by expired or reissued cards.

The primary audience is Korean businesses with recurring billing, such as monthly digital subscriptions, memberships, and course fees. Given how much of Croatia's consumption is seasonal tourism, this method is better suited to recurring billing for locally resident customers than to one-off payments from visitors, so weigh that when deciding whether to adopt it.

The consumer submits a debit authorization (mandate) along with their IBAN, after which the merchant's request automatically debits euros (EUR) from the consumer's account at each billing cycle. Unlike card payments, sufficient balance is not guaranteed at the time of authorization, so debits can fail (be returned) and a retry mechanism is needed. Hecto Financial collects the debited funds, converts them, and settles the amount with the merchant in Korea in the contracted currency of USD, KRW, or JPY.

Integrating through Hecto Financial lets Korean corporations evaluate adopting SEPA Direct Debit-based recurring billing without a local contract in Croatia. Mandate collection and retention procedures, along with terms such as settlement cycle, fees, and currency options, vary by transaction structure, so confirm these with the Hecto Financial sales team before signing a contract.

• Business registration country

  Confirm contract eligibility for businesses registered in Korea

• Sales channels

  The integration approach and priorities vary depending on your mix of online sales channels, such as your own site, open marketplaces, and mobile apps

• Product categories

  Check in advance whether your products fall under restricted categories per the SEPA Direct Debit operator's merchant policy

• EU regulatory compliance

  Confirm compliance with EU payment regulations such as PSD2 and SEPA (see official sources below)

Hecto Financial collects the euro (EUR) funds debited via SDD, converts them, and settles the amount with the merchant in Korea in whichever currency—USD, KRW, or JPY—was chosen at contract. One important point to keep in mind: under SEPA Direct Debit scheme rules, a consumer can demand a refund without giving a reason within 8 weeks of the debit date (up to 13 months if claiming an unauthorized debit). Because there is a chargeback risk in which already-settled funds can be clawed back afterward, plan the cash flow of your recurring-billing revenue conservatively with this refund window in mind, and also prepare a cancellation and refund process for EU consumers' 14-day right of withdrawal.

• Croatian National Bank — Hrvatska narodna banka (HNB)Official information on Croatia's payment systems and related regulations. If actual regulations differ from this page's content, the official source takes precedence.