The default card in a German consumer's wallet is not a credit card but a girocard. However, this card network has been designed around in-store terminal (POS) payments, and no standard path exists for paying directly with girocard at an online store. This gap is the reason why account debits, PayPal, and buy-now-pay-later options have become so developed in German e-commerce.

For businesses selling online from Korea, it is therefore more practical to target not girocard itself but the methods its users actually use online, namely PayPal or bank transfer and buy-now-pay-later options, as the target for adoption. Even when online payment is made through the international debit brand co-badged with a girocard, it is, from the card network's perspective, a transaction on the international brand.

The basic flow of girocard is paying in-store with the card and a PIN. There is no direct payment path online, so the same consumer's funds are instead processed through SEPA direct debit or transfer, PayPal, or a co-badged international debit brand. Each of these workaround paths needs to be integrated as a separate method.

Direct online acceptance of girocard through Hecto Financial is unlikely to be feasible. This page is reference information for understanding the market, and actual adoption consultations should proceed based on the workaround methods described above.

• Business registration country

  Confirm whether a contract is available under a Korean business registration

• Sales channels

  The integration method and priorities differ depending on your online sales channel mix, such as an owned storefront, open marketplaces, or a mobile app

• Product categories

  Check in advance whether your products fall under a restricted category under girocard's merchant policies

• EU regulatory compliance

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

Since direct girocard transactions are not feasible, settlement is also based on the workaround methods. Regardless of the path, the structure remains the same: German customer funds are received by Hecto Financial in euros (EUR), then converted and settled in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY was chosen in the contract, and refund and 14-day right-of-withdrawal handling likewise follow the rules of whichever method was actually used.

• Deutsche Bundesbank and Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)Official information on Germany's payment system operations and financial supervision. If this page's content differs from actual regulations, the official source takes precedence.