Greece Bank Transfer Payment Integration Guide

🇬🇷 Greece Bank transfer Payment Integration Guide

Bank transfer is the most traditional account-based payment path, where a Greek consumer sends funds to the merchant from their own online banking. This guide focuses on the difference in role from the dedicated instant-transfer scheme IRIS, deposit confirmation operations, and the settlement structure.

When to consider Bank transfer payments in Greece

Greece's banking sector has consolidated around a small number of systemic banks, making online banking use widespread, and the psychological barrier to account-based transactions has dropped significantly since the capital controls. A generic bank transfer relies on the SEPA credit transfer network as-is, functioning as a fallback path for large orders, B2B transactions, and manual remittance scenarios that dedicated schemes integrated into the checkout, such as DIAS's IRIS instant transfer, cannot cover.

It suits transactions with a large per-order amount where real-time confirmation is not essential, such as high-end furniture, B2B wholesale, or pre-orders, or merchants that need an alternative payment path for orders exceeding card limits. Rather than making it the default payment method for general consumer goods, it's more realistic to position it as an option that complements cards, wallets, and IRIS.

SEPA credit transfer

Payment method

Instant to several business days (bank-dependent)

Processing time

High-value, B2B, pre-orders

Suited transactions

Greek commercial bank network

Operating basis

Basic flow of Bank transfer payments in Greece

After placing an order, the consumer transfers funds from their own online banking to the account they were given, and the order is confirmed once the deposit is verified. Between banks supporting SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst), the funds arrive within seconds, but a regular transfer may take up to several business days, so you need to design inventory holding time and an automatic cancellation policy for unpaid orders together. The received euro (EUR) funds then move into Hecto Financial's settlement process.

Hecto Financial's Bank transfer coverage

Through Hecto Financial, a Korean corporation can consider a way to secure a receipt path for bank transfer funds without opening a local account in Greece directly. Operational conditions such as deposit matching (reconciling order numbers) and handling partial deposits vary depending on the industry and transaction structure, so these need to be confirmed before contracting.

※ This section describes the general support process and does not guarantee actual integration availability for a specific merchant. Please confirm exact coverage and fees through consultation.

Things to check before applying and integrating

Business registration country
Confirm contract eligibility based on domestic business status
Sales channels
The integration method and priority vary depending on your online sales channel mix, such as your own store, open marketplaces, or mobile apps
Product categories handled
Advance confirmation is needed to check whether your business falls under Bank transfer's restricted-industry policy
EU regulatory compliance
Confirm compliance with EU payment regulations such as PSD2 and SEPA (see the official sources below)

Settlement currency, settlement cycle, and refund terms

Euro (EUR) funds received via transfer are converted by Hecto Financial and paid out to the Korean merchant in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY is set under the contract. Because bank transfer is a push method that the consumer actively initiates, there are no chargebacks, but since the merchant must initiate a reverse transfer for refunds, it's good practice to set up a process for capturing the consumer's account information.

Greece Bank transfer payment FAQ

QIs there any reason to offer regular bank transfer separately when IRIS instant transfer already exists?

They play different roles. IRIS excels at small-to-mid-value payments completed in real time at checkout, while regular bank transfer is the path for accepting transactions where immediacy matters less, such as high-limit large orders, B2B settlement, or pre-order deposits. Running both in parallel lets you accommodate account-based payment demand split by amount range.

QDoes the euro sent by a Greek customer arrive as-is?

The structure is not one where euros are deposited directly into the merchant's account. Hecto Financial receives the funds in euros (EUR), converts them, and settles them in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY is selected under the contract, with the settlement cycle following the contract terms.

QCan this be introduced without a local Greek entity?

In some cases, contracting is possible on the basis of a Korean corporation when integrating through Hecto Financial. However, whether support is available depends on the industry and transaction structure, so confirmation through consultation is required.

QWhat restrictions must be confirmed before contracting?

You must confirm the Bank transfer operator's industry restriction policy, merchant account eligibility requirements, and the dispute handling process before contracting.

Official sources on payments in Greece

Bank of GreeceOfficial information on Greece's payment system and related regulations. If this page's content differs from actual regulations, the official source takes precedence.

Payment methods you may also consider in Greece

Inquire about introducing Bank transfer payments in Greece

Hecto Financial's team will work with you to review the right combination of payment methods for the Greek market.