About 70% of payments by local Dutch consumers are made via iDEAL, and almost no local residents use Alipay. On the other hand, Chinese tourists visiting Amsterdam and Chinese-speaking residents such as international students and expatriate workers tend to prefer using the same Alipay they use back home, and the Alipay+ partner network makes it possible to accept users of several Asian wallets through a single integration.

Korean merchants with a confirmed Chinese-speaking customer base — for example, travel, duty-free, or K-beauty commerce operators running Chinese-language product pages — are candidates to consider. If the goal is revenue from local Dutch residents, iDEAL and buy-now-pay-later methods should be put in place first, rather than Alipay.

When a consumer selects Alipay at checkout, they approve the payment through in-app authentication (password or biometric); although the consumer pays in yuan terms, the merchant's transaction amount is processed in euros (EUR). Hecto Financial receives this euro amount, converts it, and settles Korean merchants in the contracted currency among USD, KRW, and JPY.

Korean companies can consider accepting Alipay through Hecto Financial without a local contract in the Netherlands. Because this method targets Chinese-speaking customers, terms can vary depending on the products handled (duty-free, luxury goods, etc.), so advance confirmation is needed.

• Business registration country

  Confirm whether contracting is possible on the basis of a Korean business entity

• Sales channel

  The integration method and priority differ depending on your online sales channel mix — own storefront, online marketplace, mobile app, etc.

• Product categories handled

  Confirm in advance whether your products fall under a restricted category per the Alipay operator's merchant policy

• EU regulatory compliance

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

The merchant amount for Alipay transactions is generated in euros (EUR); Hecto Financial receives it, converts it, and pays Korean merchants in the currency chosen at the time of contracting among USD, KRW, and JPY. Refunds are returned to the consumer's wallet via cancellation of the original transaction, and because there may be an exchange-rate difference against the currency shown to the consumer, clear disclosure of the refund policy is important.

• De Nederlandsche Bank (Dutch central bank)Official information on the Netherlands' payment systems and supervisory regulations. If the content of this page differs from the actual regulations, the official source takes precedence.