Building on the account access opened up by PSD2, A2A payments that bypass card fees and chargeback structures are steadily spreading across Europe. As the EU Instant Payments Regulation makes SEPA Instant Credit Transfer support mandatory for eurozone banks, transfer speed concerns are also being resolved. Germany, with its strong account-centered payment habits, is one of the markets where this method is naturally well received.

It is worth considering as a complement to cards and wallets for high-order-value product categories where card fees are a heavier burden, or for sectors such as tickets and travel where payment certainty is important. The general category concept is explained on the Open Banking page, and an example implementing PSP can be found on the Trustly page.

When the consumer selects their bank at checkout, they are redirected to their bank app, and the moment Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) is completed, the transfer executes from the consumer's account. Because the amount and payee are pre-specified and only approval is needed, there is no room for manual-transfer errors such as mistyped account numbers.

Since bank coverage determines the success of Pay by Bank, it is important to confirm before integration whether the configuration broadly covers accounts at major German banks and savings banks (Sparkassen).

• Business registration country

  Confirm contract eligibility for Korea-based merchants

• Sales channels

  The integration method and priority differ depending on your online sales channel mix, such as your own storefront, open marketplaces, or mobile apps

• Product categories

  Advance confirmation is needed to check whether your category falls under the Pay by Bank (Europe) provider's restricted merchant policies

• EU regulatory compliance

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

Transferred amounts are received by Hecto Financial in euros (EUR) and go through the conversion process, and the Korea-based merchant ultimately receives a deposit in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY was selected in the contract. The settlement cycle follows the contract terms.

Since A2A payments have no approval-reversal type of refund, refund requests from EU consumers, such as the 14-day right of withdrawal, must be designed to be handled through a return-transfer-based process.

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