Ireland is a leading English-speaking market within the eurozone and a place where global tech companies, Apple included, have based their European operations, making it quick to adopt new payment technology. With everyday spending centered on debit cards and high acceptance of online one-touch payment, Apple Pay, which tokenizes a registered card and approves payment via Face ID or Touch ID, has become a natural choice for mobile checkout. Because the actual card number is never passed to the merchant, the risk of card data exposure is also lower.

Irish consumers shop online from overseas retailers at a high rate, so they expect the familiar wallet payment experience even from merchants outside their borders. For fashion, beauty, and digital content businesses with heavy mobile traffic where drop-off at checkout drives revenue, Apple Pay, which completes with a single biometric check and no card number entry, helps protect conversion.

When the shopper selects Apple Pay at checkout, the card registered on their device is passed as a token, and approval completes with Face ID or Touch ID biometric authentication. Because this biometric check satisfies the strong customer authentication (SCA) requirement under PSD2, payment often proceeds without a separate additional 3DS screen. Hecto Financial receives the approved euro (EUR) funds, converts the currency, and delivers them to the merchant in Korea in the contracted currency.

A business in Korea can explore accepting Apple Pay through Hecto Financial's integration without contracting directly with a local acquirer in Ireland. However, actual availability of support and the settlement cycle, fees, and currency options vary by merchant industry and transaction volume, so confirmation with the sales team is needed before signing.

• Business registration country

  Confirm whether a contract is available for businesses registered in Korea

• Sales channel

  The integration approach and priority differ depending on your online sales channel mix, such as owned storefront, marketplaces, or a mobile app

• Product categories

  Check in advance whether your products fall under categories restricted by Apple Pay's operator's merchant policies

• EU regulatory compliance

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

When an Irish consumer pays with Apple Pay, the funds arise in euros (EUR). Hecto Financial receives this EUR amount and converts the currency, then settles with the merchant in Korea in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY was selected in the contract, with the cycle following the contract terms. Refunds are, in principle, returned to the original payment method, and given the 14-day right of withdrawal that applies to EU distance sales, it's safer to design the refund process in advance.

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