Payment providers

Mastercard Incorporated is an American multinational financial services company and a card network provider. Mastercard handles the back-office operations, including the clearing and settlement of transactions such as purchases and cash withdrawals. It facilitates communication and financial data exchange between banks connected to the Mastercard system, including those operating POS terminals, ATMs, and card issuance.

Maestro®, one of the world's most widely recognised global deposit access brands, represents instant purchasing power and cash withdrawal convenience worldwide. It is the only online PIN-based debit card that can be used for purchases and cash withdrawals at ATMs worldwide. Mastercard Maestro is a debit and prepaid card brand owned by Mastercard and launched in 1991. Maestro is accepted at around fifteen million points of sale in 93 countries. From 2023 Mastercard will phase out Maestro in Europe. European banks and other card issuers will have to replace expired or lost Maestro cards with Debit Mastercard.

Visa Incorporated is an American multinational financial services company and a leading card network provider. Visa facilitates the back-office operations, including the clearing and settlement of transactions such as purchases and cash withdrawals. These services connect banks, including those operating POS terminals, ATMs, and card issuance, within the Visa network.

qvik provides payment within the Instant Payment System (IPS), known as Azonnali Fizetési Rendszer (AFR), of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank by scanning a QR code, approving a payment request, NFC-based touch, or clicking on a deep link within a mobile application. Offering the same fast and secure payment experience as credit card systems for both purchases and bill payments, qvik can be free for consumers and cheaper for merchants compared to previously known payment methods. The use of qvik ensures payment security, as the service is operated by Hungarian companies, and users' data remains within the country's borders.

Visa Electron was a debit card product using the Visa payment system. The difference between Visa Electron and the similar product, Visa Debit, is that Visa Electron card payments always require online electronic authorisation and typically require the full amount to be available at the time of payment. In contrast, most Visa Debit cards can be processed offline without online authorisation and may allow transactions in excess of the available balance up to a certain limit. The issuance of Visa Electron cards declined in the 2010s, with many banks replacing them with Visa Debit cards. In 2024, Visa stopped using the product worldwide.

V PAY is Visa's European debit card brand, and V PAY allows you to pay and withdraw money in shops across Europe. V PAY thus contributes to the creation of the Single European Payments Area (SEPA). As the first SEPA-compatible product, the V PAY card uses the highly secure EMV chip. With V PAY, transactions are made only with a chip and PIN - the account data required for payment and contained on the magnetic stripe can no longer be misused (skimming). Only additional services such as printing account statements or opening doors are performed via the magnetic stripe. As a chip-based payment process, V PAY prevents fraudulent use of counterfeit cards. V Pay cards were first accepted by merchants in France and Greece in 2005 and have since been extended to several European countries. However, from 2019, V Pay will be phased out in favour of Visa Debit.

The American Express Company (Amex) is a card company and card issuer, an American multinational financial services company specialising in payment cards. Amex provides the back office, clearing and settlement of transactions (purchases, cash withdrawals) between the banks (POS terminals, ATMs and card issuers) connected to the Amex system, while at the same time issuing cards to its customers. Amex is one of the world's most valuable companies and one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company's logo, adopted in 1958, features a gladiator or captain, whose image appears on the company's well-known travelers' checks, debit cards and credit cards. Its headquarters are located in the American Express Tower in New York City. Amex is the largest traveler's cheque company in the world. Founded in 1850 as an express mail dispatcher, the company introduced financial and travel services to customers in the early 1900s. American Express developed its gold card in 1958, its green card in 1966, its platinum card in 1969 and its centurion card in 1984.

UnionPay (Chinese: 银联; pinyin: Yínlián), also known as China UnionPay (Chinese: 中国银联; pinyin: Zhōngguó Yínlián), or abbreviated internationally as CUP or UPI, is a card company and a Chinese state-owned financial services organization founded in 2002. In 2015, UnionPay surpassed Visa and Mastercard in total customer payment volume, becoming the world's largest card payment processor (including both debit and credit cards). Despite this achievement, only a small portion of the payment volume occurred outside of China. UnionPay cards are accepted in over 180 countries, with billions of cards issued worldwide. While its international presence is expanding, the majority of its transactions remain concentrated within China.

JCB (Japan Credit Bureau) is a Japan-based global credit card and payment system provider, founded in 1961. The JCB cards are available worldwide and work with a number of banks. They offer various types of cards, such as credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards, which are widely used for purchases, online transactions and travel. JCB is particularly popular in Asia but also has an extensive acceptance network in other regions. In 2020, JCB cards were issued in 23 countries to more than 130 million customers.

Diners Club is one of the oldest payment card brands, having started as the world's first general purpose credit card. Since then, it has held a premium position in the card market, specializing in business and travel payments. Diners Club cards are accepted globally, especially where Discover or its partner network operates.

Google Pay (formerly Android Pay) is a mobile payment service developed by Google that enables in-app, online and in-person contactless purchases on mobile devices, allowing users to pay with Android phones, tablets, or watches. Users can authenticate using PINs, passwords, or biometrics such as 3D face scanning or fingerprint recognition. It will be available in 71 countries in 2023.

Apple Pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service developed by Apple Inc. The system allows users to use their iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac devices to pay quickly and securely online, in apps, and in stores where contactless payments are available. Apple Pay stores users' credit card information in encrypted form and protects transactions with tokenization technology. The simplicity, convenience, and security of the service have made it quickly popular.
Apple Pay works with major credit and debit cards from banks worldwide (e.g. Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express) and is constantly expanding. To use Apple Pay, the bank issuing the debit card must support Apple Pay.

Visa Click to Pay is a global digital payment solution based on the EMVCo (EMV® Secure Remote Commerce) standard. Its goal is to make online shopping as simple and secure as contactless payments in physical stores, eliminating manual card entry and the need to remember passwords.

Mastercard® Click to Pay is a global digital payment solution based on the EMVCo (EMV® Secure Remote Commerce) standard. It aims to make online shopping more secure and faster by eliminating passwords and manual card entry.

The SZÉP card (Széchenyi Pihenő Kártya) is a Hungarian fringe benefit scheme that employers can provide to their employees.
The SZÉP card is issued by several banks and service providers in Hungary, such as OTP, K&H, and MKB. It is electronic and is increasingly accepted as a means of payment. It can be used as a fringe benefit up to a limit of HUF 650 000 per year.
It is quick, easy, and free of charge.
It can be used securely and free of charge at more than 24 000 acceptance points.

The Health Fund Card is a special payment instrument that customers with a Health Fund membership can use to access various health services and products. Behind the card is a voluntary health fund account to which payments can be made by the employer, the client, or both. The card allows quick and easy payments to be made at pharmacies, private doctors' surgeries, shops selling medical supplies, and health screening programmes, for example.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company that operates an online payment system in most countries, supporting online money transfers and serving as an electronic alternative to traditional paper-based methods such as cheques and money orders. The company acts as a payment processor for online merchants, auction sites, and many other commercial users, charging a fee for its services. PayPal is a global online payment platform, enabling simple, fast, and secure electronic transactions. Founded in 1998, PayPal has become a leading provider of digital payments, with a presence in over 200 markets and more than 400 million active user accounts. PayPal offers the ability to send and receive money, shop online, and provide integrated payment solutions for merchants.

BLIK is a payment method widely used in Poland that allows users to pay easily and quickly in shops or online merchants, as well as deposit or withdraw cash or send payments to friends using their phone number.
To pay with BLIK, you don't need a debit card or wallet, just a phone with internet access and an app from the bank that supports BLIK.

Discoverer cards are payment instruments issued by Discover Financial Services in the US. The Discover network is one of the largest card networks in the world, offering credit cards, debit cards, and related financial services. In the US, Discover cards are known for their attractive cashback programs, which provide users with cash back on purchases. Discover cards compete directly with other major international card brands such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Discover is the third largest credit card brand in the United States by number of cards in circulation, behind Visa and Mastercard, with 60 million cardholders.

Alipay is a globally recognised digital payment platform operated by Ant Group (formerly Ant Financial), which was launched in China in 2004 and has grown to become one of the world's largest online and mobile payment systems. Alipay enables instant payments, money transfers, bill payments, e-commerce transactions and much more. The platform can be integrated with many third-party applications such as online shops, transport systems and various financial service providers. Alipay not only provides solutions for everyday consumers, but also offers dedicated services for business partners and merchants.

A WeChat Pay (kínaiul: 微信支付; pinyin: Wēixìn Zhīfù), hivatalos nevén Kínában Weixin Pay, a kínai Tencent által kifejlesztett mobilfizetési és digitális pénztárca szolgáltatás. A WeChat Pay lehetővé teszi a felhasználók számára, hogy mobilfizetéseket és online tranzakciókat hajtsanak végre. A WeChat Pay több mint 1,2 milliárd aktív felhasználóval rendelkezik, és 49 országban, 16 pénznemet támogat. A szolgáltatás a második legnagyobb fizetési megoldás Kínában, az Alibaba Group Alipay után. A WeChat maga a kínai Tencent óriásvállalat terméke, amely az online játékok, közösségi média és marketing egyik legnagyobb szereplője.

QR Platba (QR Payment) is a national Czech standard developed by the Czech Banking Association (ČBA). It is not a standalone payment scheme but a standardized data format. It allows payment information (IBAN, amount, currency, reference) to be encoded into a QR code. The customer scans the code using their mobile banking app, the fields are pre-filled automatically, and the instant bank transfer can be authorized with a single touch. It eliminates manual entry errors and speeds up the transaction process significantly.

Revolut Pay is Revolut's proprietary cardless payment solution based on account-to-account (A2A) technology. It aims to compete directly with services like PayPal or Click to Pay.

EPS Überweisung (Electronic Payment Standard) is an Austrian bank transfer-based payment system, jointly established by Austrian financial institutions and exclusively related to Austria. EPS Überweisung is a simple and secure online payment method from Austrian banks for purchases on the Internet via reliable online banking.

PostFinance Pay is a new online payment method in Switzerland, replacing the previous PostFinance E-Finance and PostFinance Card payment methods. Customers can pay conveniently via the PostFinance app. ​The mobile payment solution PostFinance Pay is linked to the PostFinance bank account and the PostFinance app. It allows Swiss customers to pay for their online purchases directly from their bank account without having to enter their bank card details.

Decentralized payment solutions enable cross-border transactions with lower costs and shorter processing times than traditional banking systems. Blockchain technology ensures the transparency and immutability of transactions. Although cryptocurrency payments are growing in popularity, they also face a number of challenges, such as regulatory uncertainty and volatility. More and more companies and online stores are accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment methods, contributing to mainstream acceptance.

iDEAL is the Dutch online payment system that enables direct online bank transfers. Today, around 70% of online purchases in the Netherlands are made using iDEAL.

Przelewy24 (short: P24) is the most popular online payment method in Poland. Payments are made by bank transfer (online bank transfer). Its acceptance in Hungary, in the EU and globally strongly depends on the geographical distribution of the target audience

ELV is one of Germany's popular online payment methods. It allows quick and easy payments, is relatively cheap (compared to credit cards), and suited for one-time payments (immediate payment and swift settlement) without the need to use a card upon checkout. ELV Online (electronic direct debit) is a payment method common in Germany, where the amount is deducted from the current account by direct debit.

The essence of ELV is that the customer provides their bank account details (IBAN, BIC) and the merchant withdraws the amount. The transaction is not real-time and there is no immediate approval, so the risk of fraud is higher. For this reason, it is increasingly being pushed into the background in the German market in favor of SEPA Direct Debit and card payments with strong customer authentication.

With over 1 million active users, Reka-Card is one of the most popular payment methods for holiday and leisure offers in Switzerland, allowing its customers to pay for hotel accommodation, restaurant visits, wellness, public transport tickets and much more at a discount – both online and offline.

Worldline's new payment method is Bank Transfer by Worldline, part of our Account-to-Account Payments payment solution. It allows your European customers to pay for their e-commerce (online) shopping carts directly from their bank account - simply by logging into their online banking account.

Bancontact is the most important bank card in Belgium, with over 15 million Bancontact cards in circulation. Bancontact is a Belgian bank card payment system, mainly used in Belgium. Bancontact cards are issued primarily by Belgian banks and the system is supported by local infrastructure.

Klarna is a Swedish financial technology (fintech) company founded in 2005. It primarily provides the following services:

• Payment solutions: Klarna allows customers to pay for their products later or choose installments when shopping in online stores.
• Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service: This is Klarna's main product, which allows customers to defer payment for 14-30 days without interest.
• Installment payment: Offers longer-term payment plans for periods of 3-36 months, usually with interest.
• Personal Klarna card and bank account: In some markets, Klarna also offers full banking services.

For online merchants, Klarna can be integrated into web stores (e.g. Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce platforms) and takes over the financial risk - the merchant receives payment immediately, while Klarna is responsible for paying customers. Klarna has now become one of the most valuable fintech companies and operates in more than 17 countries, including European countries, the United States, Australia and other markets. With the increase in popularity of online shopping, Klarna has also achieved significant growth, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.