Instant SEPA Payments with YowPay: Cut Fees, Get Paid Faster and Reduce Chargebacks

Card payments have dominated online and in‑store sales for years, but they come with a hidden price: high fees, rolling reserves, chargebacks, settlement delays and customer payment limits that stop perfectly good orders from going through. For ambitious merchants, that combination eats into margins, slows cash flow and pushes customers to abandon their baskets.

YowPay turns that dynamic on its head. By giving your customers a simple way to pay by bank transfer using Instant SEPA, EPC QR Code, Open Banking / PIS and manual transfers with intelligent smart‑routing, YowPay helps you capture more sales while cutting your payment costs and getting funds instantly.

In this guide, you will discover how YowPay works, why Instant SEPA transfers are becoming a game‑changer for e‑commerce and B2B / C2B flows, and how a 20‑minute demo can reveal lost revenue and savings hiding in your current payment stack.

Why bank transfer payments are the next growth engine

Across Europe, consumers and businesses are becoming increasingly comfortable paying directly from their bank accounts. With SEPA Instant transfers available in most European banks, account‑to‑account (A2A) payments are now fast, convenient and secure.

For merchants, this shift opens up a powerful opportunity:

• Lower transaction costs compared with traditional card processing.
• Instant settlement instead of waiting days for funds.
• No rolling reserves tying up your working capital.
• Fewer chargebacks and fewer disputes driven by card schemes.
• Higher approval rates for customers who are at or near their card limits or who prefer not to pay by card at all.

The challenge has always been making bank transfers as simple as card payments at checkout or at the point of sale. That is exactly what YowPay solves.

What is YowPay?

YowPay is a turnkey payment solution that helps merchants offer yowpay pay by bank SEPA transfers alongside traditional payment methods, both online and in person. It combines several powerful capabilities into a single platform:

• Instant SEPA transfers with intelligent smart‑routing.
• EPC QR Code payments that customers scan directly from their mobile banking app.
• Open Banking / PIS so payers can select their bank and confirm in a few taps.
• Manual bank transfers with all details pre‑filled to minimise errors.
• Dedicated Business SEPA IBANs (BE / FR) for B2B and C2B inflows and card processing settlements.
• Seamless e‑commerce integration so you can add Instant SEPA to your checkout.
• A mobile point‑of‑sale app that lets staff accept payments anywhere using their phones instead of physical POS terminals.

Crucially, YowPay is not a bank and not an e‑wallet. It facilitates SEPA Instant transfer payments through a regulated European electronic money issuer. Your funds do not transit through YowPay itself. YowPay provides the business payment account to receive Instant SEPA transfers and the technical platform that orchestrates the different SEPA payment options.

How YowPay works in practice

From the customer’s point of view, paying with YowPay is straightforward and familiar. Here is the typical flow for an online purchase or an invoice payment:

1. The customer chooses to pay by bank transfer at checkout or from a payment link / invoice.
2. YowPay presents three ways to pay:
   • Scanning an EPC QR Code from their mobile banking app.
   • Using Open Banking / PIS by selecting their bank and following a secure authorisation flow.
   • Completing a manual bank transfer with the transfer details provided.
3. The customer confirms the payment in their banking environment, typically with their usual security methods.
4. The SEPA Instant transfer is executed and the payment arrives in your dedicated business payment account almost immediately.
5. Funds are instantly available for payouts with no rolling reserves.

The whole journey is designed to feel as easy as a card payment, while leveraging the speed and cost advantages of SEPA Instant transfers.

Smart‑routing: three SEPA payment methods, one smooth experience

Different customers prefer different ways to pay. YowPay’s intelligent routing engine automatically proposes and processes three complementary SEPA transfer methods, optimising conversion and convenience.

EPC QR Code: tap into what customers already know

With EPC QR Code payments, YowPay generates a standardised QR code that contains all the payment details. Your customer simply:

• Opens their mobile banking app.
• Scans the QR code you display on screen, on an invoice or at the point of sale.
• Confirms the pre‑filled transfer.

Because everything is handled by the customer’s existing bank app, there is no need for them to create new accounts, remember additional passwords or store cards. It reduces friction and errors at the same time.

Open Banking / PIS: guided, secure A2A payments

Through Open Banking / Payment Initiation Services (PIS), YowPay lets customers:

• Select their bank from a list.
• Authenticate securely with their usual banking credentials and strong customer authentication.
• Authorise the transfer with all payment details pre‑filled.

This guided flow is ideal for customers who are comfortable with online banking but may not regularly initiate transfers themselves. It keeps them inside a secure, regulated banking environment from start to finish.

Manual transfers made error‑proof

For customers who prefer to set up a transfer manually, YowPay provides all the necessary payment information clearly and accurately:

• Recipient name.
• IBAN.
• Amount.
• Reference.

The platform is designed to minimise the risk of errors by ensuring that details are easy to copy or enter. This flexibility means you can still capture payments from users whose banks may not yet support certain instant features, while keeping a consistent process on your side.

Dedicated Business SEPA IBANs for BE and FR

One of the standout advantages of YowPay is the provision of dedicated Business SEPA IBANs in Belgium and France. These business accounts are opened via a European regulated electronic money issuer and are at the core of how YowPay streamlines your inbound flows.

With these business IBANs, you can:

• Collect B2B and C2B payments for your e‑commerce transactions.
• Use a dedicated IBAN for card processing settlements if needed.
• Access your funds instantly for payouts once the transfer arrives.

Because there are no rolling reserves held back from your payouts, your cash flow becomes more predictable. That can be particularly powerful for SMEs that want to reinvest quickly in inventory, marketing or operations.

YowPay vs traditional card processing: a side‑by‑side view

To understand the impact of switching part of your payment volume to YowPay, it helps to compare how it differs from typical card processing flows.

Many merchants find that moving even a portion of their volume from cards to Instant SEPA dramatically reduces fees and operational headaches, while still keeping cards available for customers who prefer them.

Real‑world outcomes merchants are seeing

Merchants using YowPay report tangible improvements in both revenue and costs, including:

• Increased turnover by capturing sales that would previously have been declined or abandoned due to card limits or customer preferences.
• Significant cost reductions on payment processing, with some SMEs reporting savings worth tens of thousands of euros per year.
• Additional payments without chargebacks, helping teams spend less time handling disputes and more time serving customers.
• Faster cash flow thanks to instant settlement and the absence of rolling reserves.

For businesses frustrated with the “dictatorship” of card schemes, YowPay feels like a fresh alternative that restores control over payment costs and cash flow.

Ideal use cases: where YowPay makes the biggest impact

Instant SEPA payments with YowPay can support a wide range of sectors, but they are especially powerful in situations where:

• Card fees are eating into already tight margins, such as in high‑volume e‑commerce or low‑margin product categories.
• Average order values are high and card limits or issuer risk checks often cause declines.
• Chargebacks are frequent and your team spends too much time managing disputes.
• B2B invoices need to be paid quickly and reliably, without the friction of cheques or manual reconciliation.
• C2B flows such as professional services, repairs, bookings or consulting rely on fast, confirmed payments.
• In‑person sales occur in flexible environments — for example, field sales, events or multi‑site teams — where a mobile POS app on staff phones is more efficient than installing extra hardware.

By introducing A2A payments as a fully integrated option alongside cards, you give customers more freedom while protecting your bottom line.

Seamless e‑commerce integration

YowPay is designed to plug into your existing online operations with minimal disruption. You can:

• Add Instant SEPA as a visible payment option at checkout, alongside cards and other methods.
• Present QR, Open Banking and manual transfer options in a way that matches your brand and user experience.
• Streamline reconciliation by receiving your SEPA payments into dedicated business IBANs with clear references.

The result is a checkout that feels familiar to your customers but gives them more ways to pay — reducing abandoned carts and increasing completed orders.

Mobile point‑of‑sale: turn every phone into a payment terminal

For in‑person or hybrid businesses, YowPay’s mobile point‑of‑sale app means your team can accept payments anywhere there is a data connection, using smartphones instead of traditional POS terminals.

Merchants have used this to:

• Replace physical POS hardware with staff mobile phones.
• Take payment on‑site during visits, events or exhibitions.
• Accelerate billing by linking the app with online invoicing or billing systems.

One SME reported that adopting YowPay and replacing conventional POS solutions contributed to around 30,000 euros in yearly savings, which they could reinvest into promotion and growth.

Security, control and compliance built‑in

Whenever bank data is involved, security and governance are critical. YowPay is architected to maximise protection while keeping you firmly in control of your funds.

• Funds do not transit through YowPay itself. Instead, your business payment account is provided via a regulated European e‑money issuer.
• Payouts can only go to pre‑approved accounts belonging to your company or group companies, reducing the risk of misdirected payments.
• Two‑factor authentication (2FA) is used to verify that sensitive actions and transactions are properly authorised.
• Banking data is exchanged securely between you and your customers through trusted channels and regulated partners.

This structure gives you the benefits of modern A2A payments and instant transfers, underpinned by regulated infrastructure and robust access controls.

What you will see in a 20‑minute YowPay demo

YowPay offers concise, focused demos — typically around 20 minutes — that are designed to show the concrete impact on your business, not just a generic product tour. In that short time, you can expect to see how YowPay can:

• Help you capture more sales by providing a trusted alternative for customers who cannot or do not want to pay by card.
• Cut your transaction fees by shifting part of your volume from costly card rails to efficient SEPA Instant transfers.
• Improve your customer experience with a sleek, low‑friction flow that uses familiar banking tools such as QR scanning and Open Banking.

The demo also typically walks through:

• How your customers see YowPay at checkout or in your billing system.
• How funds move into your dedicated business IBANs.
• How you trigger payouts to your approved accounts.
• How reporting and reconciliation fit into your existing financial processes.

By the end, most merchants have a clear picture of where YowPay can replace more expensive or less reliable payment flows, and how quickly they can start.

Why now is the right time to add Instant SEPA to your payment mix

The adoption of SEPA Instant across Europe is accelerating, and many banks have already made instant transfers a standard part of their offering. That means your customers are increasingly ready to pay straight from their bank accounts, provided you make it safe and simple.

For merchants, waiting too long to embrace bank transfer payments can mean:

• Continuing to absorb higher card processing fees than necessary.
• Living with rolling reserves that slow down your growth.
• Accepting high chargeback and dispute volumes as an unavoidable cost of doing business.
• Missing out on customers who prefer or trust bank transfers over card payments.

By integrating YowPay now, you put yourself ahead of the curve: you give customers more choice, you future‑proof your payment stack with A2A rails, and you create room in your margins to invest back into your business.

Key takeaways: what YowPay delivers for merchants

To recap, YowPay brings together everything you need to make Instant SEPA work for your business in the real world:

• Turnkey Instant SEPA payments with EPC QR Code, Open Banking / PIS and manual transfers in a single smart‑routed flow.
• Dedicated Business SEPA IBANs (BE / FR) to receive B2B / C2B e‑commerce inflows and card processing settlements.
• Instant settlement, lower transaction fees and no rolling reserves, improving both margins and cash flow.
• Reduced chargebacks and abandoned carts by giving customers a strong, trusted alternative to cards.
• Seamless e‑commerce integration and a mobile point‑of‑sale app that turns smartphones into flexible payment terminals.
• Security and trust via a regulated European e‑money issuer, pre‑approved payout accounts and two‑factor authentication.
• Short, focused demos to quickly identify how you can capture more sales and cut costs.

If you are looking to expand your payment options, escape the constraints of card‑only processing and unlock the full potential of SEPA Instant across your e‑commerce and B2B / C2B flows, YowPay offers a powerful, ready‑to‑use solution.

Bank transfers are no longer slow, manual or inconvenient. With YowPay, they become one of the most efficient, secure and profitable ways to get paid across Europe.