How eps and giropay online money transfers help you expand in German-speaking markets
Until now, anyone regularly shopping online and wanting to avoid the hassle of entering payment data could hardly avoid payment services like PayPal or Apple Pay. Enter the username and password - and payment is made to the recipient. This convenience is also offered by two payment services from Germany and Austria: giropay and eps transfer, each of which is the result of a cooperation between your country’s main banks.
In the following article, we take a closer look at the two new payment methods in the secupay portfolio.
giropay and eps: Pay online directly from your checking account
giropay and eps ("electronic payment standard") are payment methods for online purchases similar to Sofortüberweisung (instant transfer). In principle, this is an online transfer that is processed directly via online banking of the buyer's own bank or savings bank.
While giropay is now supported by 1,500 German banks, eps is the payment method’s Austrian variant. Both payment systems are interconnected via an interface and thus enable cross-border payments. As soon as a buyer selects a bank of the other method for payment, the transaction is forwarded to the corresponding operator on a cross-border basis.
How does payment with giropay and eps transfer work?
In principle, giropay and eps work similarly to a normal bank transfer: In the online store, customers place the desired goods in the shopping basket and then select giropay or eps as the payment method. For the payment process, they are redirected to their familiar online banking. There, they log in with their access data and release the payment via TAN entry or biometric procedure. The bank then transfers the amount from the customer's account to the online merchant. The service is free of charge for payers.
Why you should offer giropay and eps transfer at your checkout
Customers and merchants alike benefit from eps transfer and giropay payments.
From the customer's point of view, the payment methods are particularly secure, as no payment-relevant data has to be transferred to a payment service. To pay, the customer leaves the online store and lands in their bank’s protected online banking area for the actual payment process
Merchants, on the other hand, who offer giropay and eps transfer as payment methods, receive the message that the money has been transferred directly after the payment has been completed. This is also a great advantage for customers, because for advance payments, the online store usually waits for the payment to be received before shipping the goods. With giropay and eps, this waiting time is eliminated.
How will the new payment methods be integrated into checkout?
To offer your buyers these two types of online bank transfer, your payment page is connected via a technical interface to the servers of the banks that support giropay and eps transfer. No special hardware or software has to be installed.
As soon as payments are made via eps or giropay, you will see these transactions with all details in the secuOffice merchant portal. All relevant data can be exported for your accounting department and other responsible departments.
