Discover is a US-centric card network that shares its acceptance infrastructure with Diners Club. There is almost no local Greek issuance base, but given the tourism market's characteristic influx of visitors and residents using cards issued in the US and elsewhere, this guide covers its value as a complementary acceptance method.
Discover and Diners Club cards are almost never issued locally in Greece, making this a low-priority method if you only consider domestic customers. However, Greece is a tourism market with a steady inflow of cruise and air travelers from the Americas, and many of them use Discover-network cards issued in their home country. In other words, this is not for Greek consumers, but a complementary method for foreign cardholders spending in Greece.
For hotels, tours, and cruise-linked services with many bookings from travelers in the Americas, or English-language online stores serving multinational customers including Greece, adding Discover alongside Visa and Mastercard acceptance can reduce failed payment cases. For merchants focused on domestic customers, it's reasonable to keep adoption priority low.
This is a standard card flow in which a holder of a Discover or Diners Club card issued abroad enters their card details to pay, and transactions within Europe may be subject to the strong customer authentication (SCA) procedure under PSD2. When the issuing country is outside the region, such as the US, the authentication method may vary depending on the issuer's policy, and this should be taken into account. The approved funds are received by Hecto Financial in euros (EUR).
Integrating through Hecto Financial lets a Korean corporation consider accepting Discover-network cards without a local contract in Greece. Since accepting cards issued abroad simply adds a brand to an existing card payment setup, the support conditions (settlement cycle, fees, currency options) 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.
Confirm contract eligibility based on domestic business status
The integration method and priority vary depending on your online sales channel mix, such as your own store, open marketplaces, or mobile apps
Advance confirmation is needed to check whether your business falls under Discover's restricted-industry policy
Confirm compliance with EU payment regulations such as PSD2 and SEPA (see the official sources below)
Discover transaction funds received in euros (EUR) are converted and settled to the Korean merchant in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY is selected under the contract. Because cards issued abroad can take longer to resolve disputes and chargebacks, be sure to establish a standard for retaining transaction evidence.
Hecto Financial's team will work with you to review the right combination of payment methods for the Greek market.
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