Italian consumers have traditionally been more accustomed to debit and prepaid cards than credit cards, leaving them without a natural way to split payment on higher-priced purchases. Scalapay was founded in Italy to target exactly that gap as a 3-installment BNPL service, spreading first through the fashion and beauty industry and then across Southern Europe more broadly. In Italian e-commerce, now grown to roughly 55 billion euros a year, the brand familiarity of being the "home-grown BNPL" is an asset that global operators find hard to match.

For businesses whose primary customers are Italian consumers in categories with high average order values and a strong emotional-purchase character — fashion, beauty, jewelry, travel, and the like — Scalapay is especially effective at reducing checkout drop-off. The fact that a payment button consumers already recognize from local stores also appears on a Korean merchant's storefront itself acts as a trust signal.

When a shopper selects Scalapay at checkout, Scalapay runs an instant approval assessment, splits the payment amount into a 3-installment schedule, and pays out the merchant's share itself. Hecto Financial receives this euro (EUR) payment, converts it, and settles it with the merchant in Korea in whichever of USD, KRW, or JPY was selected in the contract. Because managing the installment schedule and collecting from consumers who fail to pay is Scalapay's responsibility, the merchant does not take on any installment receivable risk.

Integrating through Hecto Financial lets adoption be reviewed on the basis of a Korean corporation, without setting up a local entity in Italy or entering into a separate merchant agreement with Scalapay. Eligibility and terms (settlement cycle, fees, currency options) vary by business category and transaction volume, so please confirm with Hecto Financial's 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 Scalapay's merchant policy

• EU regulatory compliance

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

Even when an Italian consumer pays in installments, settlement to the merchant proceeds independently of the installment schedule. Hecto Financial receives the euro (EUR) payment, converts it, and settles it domestically in a single currency set in the contract from USD, KRW, or JPY, with the cycle following the contract terms. Because a return or refund cancels the consumer's remaining installments, it's safest to confirm with Scalapay's policy when the refund takes effect if a consumer exercises the 14-day withdrawal right guaranteed to EU consumers.

• 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.