Cyprus has belonged to SEPA (the Single Euro Payments Area) since it retired the Cyprus pound and adopted the euro in 2008, so bank transfers move to and from any EU country under the same standard. Given the market's small domestic e-commerce scale, consumers are used to buying from foreign online stores, which makes card-free, direct-from-account transfer payments a particularly trusted channel for high-value transactions.

For transactions that easily exceed card limits—such as language education and study services, high-ticket goods like furniture and electronics, or shipping and professional service fees—accepting bank transfers improves checkout completion rates. For low-value, immediate purchases, however, cards and wallets remain the priority, so it's best to design bank transfer as a complementary option.

The transaction is confirmed once the customer transfers euros (EUR) to the account provided by the merchant, or approves the transfer in their banking app. Because this is a bank-to-bank transfer that bypasses card networks, there is no chargeback, but an operational process is needed to confirm receipt before delivering goods or services. Hecto Financial converts the collected euros and settles the merchant in Korea in the contracted currency of USD, KRW, or JPY.

Bank transfer acceptance can be reviewed through Hecto Financial on the basis of a contract with a Korean business, and is designed so that opening a local account in Cyprus is not separately required. Detailed terms such as settlement cycle, fees, and currency options are set through consultation based on transaction volume.

• 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 Bank transfer operator's merchant policy

• EU regulatory compliance

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

Euro funds arriving via transfer are pooled in Hecto Financial's collection account and then converted, and the merchant in Korea is paid out in whichever currency—USD, KRW, or JPY—was set in the contract. Because transfer payments have no card-style chargeback, refunds are processed as a merchant-initiated reverse transfer, and it is advisable to have a process for confirming the return account ready in case a Cyprus consumer requests the 14-day right of withdrawal available under EU rules.

• Central Bank of CyprusOfficial information on Cyprus's payment systems and related regulations. If actual regulations differ from this page's content, the official source takes precedence.