Italy's payment market is moving away from its historically cash-heavy structure toward account- and card-based digital payments, and SEPA standard transfer infrastructure underpins that shift. Bank transfer (bonifico) remains a preferred method for large-ticket transactions such as furniture, travel packages, and B2B deals where merchants want to avoid chargeback exposure, and the spread of SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) is also narrowing the traditional weakness of a delay before deposit confirmation.

Merchants in Korea focused on high-value, low-frequency transactions (furniture, musical instruments, business equipment, education programs, and similar categories) may want to consider accepting bank transfers as a way to reduce card fees and chargeback risk. Conversely, for low-ticket, high-volume sales, the common setup is to make cards and wallets the primary method and position bank transfer as a fallback route for customers whose card payment fails.

After placing an order, the shopper transfers funds to the provided account or completes the transfer through online banking authentication, and the order is confirmed once the deposit is verified. Hecto Financial receives the euro (EUR) payment transferred by the Italian customer, converts it, and settles it with the merchant in Korea in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY was selected in the contract. Since this is not a card-based payment, each bank's own online banking security procedures (based on PSD2), rather than 3DS, apply.

Integrating through Hecto Financial lets a Korean corporation consider accepting bank transfers without opening a local bank account in Italy directly. Operational conditions specific to transfers, such as deposit reconciliation (matching) and handling partial deposits, vary by business category and transaction structure, so they should be confirmed with the sales team before signing a contract.

• Business registration country

  Confirm contract eligibility for businesses registered in Korea

• Sales channels

  The integration method and priority vary depending on the online sales channel mix — owned storefront, marketplace, mobile app, and so on

• Product categories

  Check in advance whether your products fall under a category restricted by the Bank transfer operator's merchant policy

• EU regulatory compliance

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

The settlement flow for transfer-based payments is straightforward. Hecto Financial receives the amount deposited in euros (EUR), converts it, and pays the merchant in Korea in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY was designated in the contract, with the cycle following the contract terms. Since transfers have no concept of a chargeback, refunds are handled by the merchant transferring funds back to the customer's account, so it is important to set and communicate an internal turnaround time from refund request to remittance.

• Bank of Italy (Banca d'Italia)Official information on Italy's payment system and related regulations. If the content of this page differs from the actual regulations, the official source takes precedence.