The two ways to integrate bank transfers into your website
Firstly, we need to distinguish between two methods of collecting payments by bank transfer, which do not require the same level of investment and do not offer the same experience.
Manual bank transfer, with IBAN provided
After placing the order, the customer receives the merchant’s IBAN, the amount due, and a reference to include in the payment description. They then make the transfer from their own online banking account.
This method does not require advanced technical integration and is well suited to small structures or B2B use where the buyer is used to working by bank transfer on invoice.
However, it has significant operational limitations:
- The customer leaves the purchase funnel.
- The payment deadline is not under control.
- The identification of the payment at the order depends on the correct entry of the description (which often generates manual operations on the back-office side).
The initiated transfer (Open Banking)
The bank transfer initiation (PIS) process is becoming more integrated into the purchasing process: from the payment page, the customer selects their bank, is redirected to their personal banking area with all fields pre-filled (beneficiary IBAN, amount, reference), authenticates, and confirms. The transfer is initiated immediately. The merchant receives real-time confirmation.
Technically, the merchant doesn’t integrate directly with each bank’s APIs: the payment service provider acts as an interface between the merchant’s website and the banking ecosystem. This approach offers an experience similar to paying by credit card and eliminates most of the operational friction associated with manual bank transfers.
The central challenge: reconciling payments and managing order statuses
With card payments, the flow is synchronous and deterministic: authorization, capture, confirmation. The order status updates in seconds.
With bank transfers, there’s a natural separation between when the order is placed and when the payment is actually received. Regardless of the type of transfer implemented, a slight update to the workflow is necessary.
Dedicated virtual IBANs: the answer to the reconciliation problem
Rather than a single collecting IBAN, the system dynamically generates a distinct IBAN for each order (or customer). Each incoming transfer is automatically linked to the correct order, regardless of the description provided by the buyer.
This mechanism allows automatic matching without human intervention, protects the main IBAN against fraud and produces detailed traceability usable by finance and accounting teams.
Order statuses to define and automate
Integrating instant online bank transfers into an e-commerce site also requires explicitly defining intermediate states that don’t exist in a card payment flow. Here are the minimum states to cover:
- Awaiting payment: The order has been created, but the transfer has not yet been received
- Payment received: The transfer is confirmed, and the order can be processed
- Anomaly: Incorrect amount, partial payment, or overpayment
- Payment expired: The configured timeframe has passed without receipt of the transfer
- Refund: An outgoing transfer must be issued
Each transition between these statuses should be automated as much as possible and connected to downstream processes: triggering logistics preparation, customer notifications, and accounting updates. An OMS or CMS that triggers preparation as soon as the order is created, without waiting for confirmation of receipt of the transfer, creates a real operational risk.
Technical integration according to your stack:
Via a native CMS module
For websites using Shopify, WooCommerce, Prestashop, or Magento, modules developed by Payment Service Providers (PSPs) allow for easy integration of bank transfers. This is the fastest and most accessible solution for teams without significant development resources.
Via PSP API
For custom architectures or marketplaces, REST API integration is the preferred option. It offers complete control over the payment experience and processing workflows.
The main steps of an API integration:
- Account creation with the PSP: application validation and account opening, obtaining API keys and access to technical documentation.
- Test environment (sandbox) configuration: simulation of normal scenarios (payment received) and anomalies: partial payment, timeout, bank unavailable.
- Implementation of payment session creation: upon cart validation, the backend calls the PSP API to create a payment session. The PSP returns a redirect URL to the customer’s bank interface, pre-filled with all the necessary information.
- Customer return management and webhooks:
- Synchronous return: the customer is redirected to your site after validation in their banking area (success or abandonment).
- Asynchronous webhook: the PSP notifies your server as soon as the payment status changes (payment confirmed, anomaly, expiration). This second data stream is the authoritative one.
- Updating order statuses in the database: upon receipt of the webhook, the system updates the order status, triggers the associated actions, and returns an HTTP 200 response to the PSP to acknowledge receipt.
- Production deployment: replacement of the sandbox API keys with production keys, verification of the webhook URLs, and end-to-end testing with a real transfer.
With CentralPay, integrating bank transfers into your e-commerce site is quick and easy. The solution fully adapts to your existing infrastructure (via e-commerce plugin or API) and your operational needs (instant reconciliation, synchronization with business tools, etc.). Get to know more ➜
And then, how do we handle internal transfers?
This is often the most underestimated aspect of wire transfer integration projects. The technology may be ready, but if internal processes don’t keep up, manual management quickly takes over again.
Once payment is confirmed, the data must be fed into the management systems: ERP (Cegid, Sage, Microsoft Dynamics, etc.) or other tools. Two methods coexist, depending on the technical maturity:
- batch file exchange (bank formats, CSV),
- and real-time API feeds for instant updates.
What about the rest of the teams?
- Customer service staff need to be trained on the new order statuses: what to say when a customer reports having been discharged but the order is still “pending”? What is the time frame before escalation?
- Logistics needs a clear policy on stock reservation: does an order “pending payment” hold stock or not? For how long?
- Accounting needs to adapt its reconciliation and exception handling processes: who processes partial payments? Overpayments? Unidentified transfers?
Ready to integrate bank transfers into your website?
Effective e-commerce integration comes down to aligning three layers:
- The customer experience within the checkout process, ensuring that bank transfers are perceived as a reliable and simple payment method
- Reconciliation and status management mechanisms, ensuring that each payment is identified, processed, and tracked without manual intervention
- Downstream organizational processes, ensuring that logistics, accounting, and customer service are aligned with this new operational reality
The recent introduction of free bank transfers and the strong arrival of Wero are creating new opportunities for French and European e-commerce businesses. Integrate bank transfers into their websites is one such opportunity.
