# How to Pay in Austria: Cash, Bankomatkarte, eps and Wallets (2026)

> 8 weeks to reverse a direct debit, no chargeback on eps, €6.90 for a bounced debit: how Austria pays in 2026 and which method refunds you.

Updated: October 12 2026 · By Jules de Bruin · URL: https://www.how-to-austria.com/banking/payment-methods

Carry a **Bankomatkarte** and some cash. Cash was still **55%** of shop payments in the **OeNB** survey for 2025, and no law forces a café or market stall to take cards. Your own bank’s ATMs are free; others charge up to **€7.90**. **Apple Pay** works with every large Austrian bank, while **Bluecode** covers 300+ banks but not **Erste Bank**.

A **credit card** or **PayPal** goods-and-services protects you against a shop that never delivers; **eps** and bank transfers do not. A **SEPA direct debit** can be reversed for **8 weeks** without a reason (§ 71 ZaDiG), or **13 months** if you never authorised it. A bounced debit costs **€6.90 to €7.90** at your bank, before the company adds its own fees.

## Which Payment Method Protects You Best in Austria?

| Method | Cost to you | Refund right | Deadline | What goes wrong |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Credit card | €0 in euro; FX fee abroad depends on the card | Chargeback through the card scheme, plus refund of unauthorised payments | About 120 days for a chargeback (scheme rules); 13 months for unauthorised use (§ 65 ZaDiG) | Interest if you do not repay the statement in full |
| Debit card (Bankomatkarte) | €0 in shops; foreign ATM fees vary | Chargeback (debit Mastercard and Visa are scheme cards), plus refund of unauthorised payments | About 120 days for a chargeback; 13 months for unauthorised use | Money leaves the account immediately while the dispute runs |
| SEPA direct debit | €0 | Refund without giving a reason | 8 weeks after the debit (§ 71 Abs. 1 ZaDiG); 13 months if never authorised | The refund does not cancel the debt you owe the company |
| PayPal, goods and services | €0 in euro inside the EU; about 3 to 4% on currency conversion | PayPal buyer protection case | Set by PayPal terms | Covers nothing sent as Friends and Family |
| Klarna invoice or Pay in 3 | €0 if every date is met | Klarna dispute process, payment paused while it runs | Set by Klarna terms | First reminder from about €1.40, then debt collection and KSV1870 |
| Bank transfer and SEPA Instant | €0 online at most banks | None for an authorised transfer; recall attempt only | Recall works within minutes to a few hours, if at all | A transfer to a fraudster is gone |
| eps online transfer | €0 for the buyer; the shop pays 1.6 to 2.4% | None, the payment is final | Not applicable | A fake shop keeps the money |
| Bluecode | €0 | None, account-based like a transfer | Not applicable | Merchant goodwill is the only route |
| Cash | €0 at your own bank's ATMs; up to €7.90 at others | None | Not applicable | Lost or stolen cash is not replaced |

Ordered from strongest to weakest protection against a merchant who does not deliver. Statutory deadlines from the ZaDiG 2018 on RIS, checked 12 October 2026; chargeback window from Mastercard and Visa scheme practice as reported by Austrian issuers; eps merchant fee from the Payrexx price list of 11 June 2026; foreign ATM fee from travel-dealz.de, 24 August 2026.

The payment methods that protect you best in Austria are the **card schemes** and **SEPA direct debit**. A **credit card** or debit **Bankomatkarte** gives you a **chargeback** of roughly **120 days** when goods never arrive. A direct debit can be reversed for **8 weeks** with no reason at all. **eps**, **Bluecode**, bank transfers and cash give you nothing back once the money has gone, so they suit merchants you already trust.

The two rights work differently. An **unauthorised payment**, one you never approved, is a legal claim against your bank: it must refund the amount **without delay** ([§ 67 ZaDiG 2018](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20010182)) and your own liability for a lost card is capped at **€50** (§ 68). A **chargeback** for a payment you did approve, where the shop failed to deliver, is not in Austrian statute. It runs on **Visa** and **Mastercard** rules, which is why it exists for cards and not for eps. Our [card dispute guide](/banking/card-disputes) walks through the Umsatzreklamation step by step.

The weakest spot is the one people are pushed into. Marketplace fraudsters ask for **PayPal Friends and Family**, an **eps** payment or an **instant transfer** precisely because none of them can be clawed back. The **BMASGPK** phishing report for 2025 found an average loss of **€4,333** per case and **28%** of cases running through bank transfers. If a seller refuses every protected option, treat that as the answer.

## When Do You Still Need Cash in Austria, and What Does It Cost?

| Bank group | Own customers | Other banks’ cards at its ATMs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Raiffeisen](https://www.raiffeisen.at) (about 2,800 ATMs) | €0 | up to €7.90, varies by regional bank |
| [Erste Bank](https://www.sparkasse.at) and Sparkassen | €0 | €4.95 |
| bank99 (Post) | one self-service withdrawal a month included, then €0.77 (smartkonto99) | €4.50 to €6.90 |
| Volksbank | €0 | €3.99 |
| BAWAG and easybank | €0 | **€0** |
| Oberbank, BKS, Austrian Anadi, Sparda | €0 | **€0** |

Sources: travel-dealz.de ATM fee table, 24 August 2026; gratis-konto.at bank99 test, 11 March 2025. [Raiffeisen](https://www.raiffeisen.at) fees are set by each regional bank. [Bank Austria](https://www.bankaustria.at) publishes no dated fee for foreign cards, so it is left out rather than guessed.

You still need cash in Austria because acceptance is the merchant’s choice. Euro notes are **legal tender**, but **no law obliges a shop to take cards**, and cash was **55%** of point-of-sale payments and **45%** of their value in the **OeNB Zahlungsmittelstudie 2025** (reported 29 April 2026). Withdraw at your own bank group’s machines, where it costs **€0**, or at **BAWAG** and **Oberbank**, which charge no foreign-card fee.

Three jobs still need cash or a counter. Paying cash into an app bank is not provided for in Austria: **[N26](https://n26.com)** has no **Cash26** network here. A **counter deposit** at **[Erste Bank](https://www.sparkasse.at)** costs **€3.96**, the same as any counter transaction there, while the bank’s self-service machines are free. At **bank99** two counter deposits a year are free on the smartkonto99, then **€4.63** each. Tourist-zone ATMs run by **Euronet** add their own fee and offer to convert into your home currency: always decline the conversion.

Large cash payments have rules, not a cap. Austria sets **no domestic cash limit** today, but a business taking **€10,000** or more in cash must identify you under the anti-money-laundering rules, and crossing the EU border with **€10,000** or more must be declared to customs. From **10 July 2027** the EU anti-money-laundering regulation (EU) 2024/1624 caps cash payments to businesses at **€10,000** everywhere in the Union. Nobody has to accept more than **50 coins** in a single payment.

Illustration of a banking app, a coin stack, and a rising chart, for managing money and saving in Austria.

## Which Austrian Banks Support Apple Pay, Google Pay and Bluecode?

| Bank | Apple Pay | Google Pay | Bluecode |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Erste Bank](https://www.sparkasse.at) and Sparkassen | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes, since 14 December 2022 | ✕ No |
| [Raiffeisen](https://www.raiffeisen.at) | ✓ Yes, all Raiffeisenbanken | ○ Own Android wallet (ELBA-pay) in 2023; check the app | ✓ Yes |
| [Bank Austria](https://www.bankaustria.at) | ✓ Yes | ○ Own Android wallet in 2023; check the app | ○ Not in the published bank list |
| BAWAG and easybank | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes, since 2023 | ○ Not in the published bank list |
| Volksbank | ✓ Yes, all Volksbanken | ○ Not confirmed | ✓ Yes |
| bank99 | ✓ Yes | ○ Not confirmed | ✓ Yes |
| Oberbank, BKS, BTV | ✓ Yes | ○ Not confirmed | ✓ Yes |
| [N26](https://n26.com), [Revolut](https://www.revolut.com) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |

Apple Pay: Apple’s participating-bank list for Austria, checked 12 October 2026. Google Pay: Erste Group press release of 14 December 2022 and futurezone.at reporting from 2023; Google publishes no Austrian bank list, so “not confirmed” means we could not verify it, not that it is missing. Bluecode: bank list announced by Blue Code International AG (OTS, 26 January 2021).

**Apple Pay** is the safe choice in Austria: Apple’s own list names **[Erste Bank](https://www.sparkasse.at)**, every **Raiffeisenbank**, **[Bank Austria](https://www.bankaustria.at)**, **BAWAG**, **easybank**, every **Volksbank**, **bank99**, **[N26](https://n26.com)** and **[Revolut](https://www.revolut.com)**. **Google Pay** is confirmed for **[Erste Bank](https://www.sparkasse.at)** since **December 2022** and for **BAWAG** since **2023**. [Raiffeisen](https://www.raiffeisen.at) and [Bank Austria](https://www.bankaustria.at) pushed their own Android wallets instead, so check the app before you rely on it.

**Bluecode** is the Austrian alternative. **Blue Code International AG** in Innsbruck runs a QR-code payment that costs you **€0** and works through **300+ Austrian banks**, including [Raiffeisen](https://www.raiffeisen.at), Volksbank, Oberbank, BKS, BTV and bank99. It is accepted at **Billa**, **Spar** and **Bipa**, and through a partnership with ryd at **5,000+ petrol stations** in Austria and Germany (January 2025). The gap is the largest bank group: **[Erste Bank](https://www.sparkasse.at)** and the Sparkassen are not in the network.

Wallet payments inherit the protection of the card behind them. A **Bankomatkarte** stored in Apple Pay keeps its **chargeback** right. **Bluecode** debits your account directly, so it behaves like a transfer: free and fast, but with no chargeback if something goes wrong.

## Should You Pay Online With eps, Klarna, PayPal or a Card?

| Method | Wins when | Loses when | Cost trap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| eps | Paying FinanzOnline or an authority; a desktop checkout; you do not want card data at the shop | The shop is unknown to you: there is no chargeback | None for you; needs an Austrian bank account |
| Bluecode | Supermarket till, petrol station, sending money to a friend without an IBAN | You bank with Erste, or you are abroad | None; no chargeback |
| Klarna | You want to check the goods before paying; 14 to 30 days free | Your account is tight when the debit runs | Reminder from about €1.40, instalments up to about 14% effective |
| PayPal | An unknown shop that takes no credit card; sending euro to friends in the EU | The seller insists on Friends and Family | About 3 to 4% on currency conversion |
| Credit card | Any shop you do not know; bookings that need a deposit | You carry a balance: interest runs | FX fee on non-euro purchases, by card |

Sources: Payrexx price list, 11 June 2026 (eps merchant fee); onlinesicherheit.gv.at, 27 January 2025 (eps); Blue Code International AG and ryd, 15 January 2025; jef.at and Kontrast, 26 April 2026 (Klarna reminder fee, not confirmed on a Klarna price list); PayPal conversion range from fee-structure data for 2025. Pay-in-instalments rates are from earlier research and should be checked in the Klarna app.

For online payments in Austria the rule is simple: **eps** for shops and authorities you trust, a **credit card** or **PayPal** goods-and-services for shops you do not. **eps**, run by the banks through **STUZZA**, sends you into your own online banking and costs the buyer **€0**, while the shop pays **1.6 to 2.4%**. It is final like any transfer. **Klarna** is free only while every due date holds.

**Klarna** and **PayPal** are not the same kind of product. **Klarna Bank AB**, licensed in Sweden, lends you the purchase price for **14 to 30 days** or splits it into three, and protects you mostly by letting you pause payment during a dispute. **PayPal (Europe)**, supervised by the CSSF in Luxembourg, pays the shop immediately and protects you through a **buyer protection** case. That case exists only for **goods and services**, never for **Friends and Family**.

The rules for buy-now-pay-later change on **20 November 2026**. The **Verbraucherkreditgesetz 2026** (BGBl. I Nr. 36/2026) makes **Klarna** instalments and deferred invoices **consumer credit**, with a mandatory creditworthiness check and a ban on lending after a negative result. Until then, and after it, a missed Klarna date runs the same chain: reminder, debt collection, then a **KSV1870** entry. Our [debt collection guide](/banking/debt-collection) covers what a collector may add on top.

## How Do You Get a SEPA Direct Debit Refunded?

| Situation | Deadline | What the bank must do | Law |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| You signed the mandate but dispute the debit | **8 weeks** from the debit | Refund the full amount, no reason needed, or answer within **10 business days** | § 70 Abs. 1, § 71 Abs. 1 ZaDiG 2018 |
| You never signed a mandate | **13 months** from the debit | Refund without delay and restore the account | § 65, § 67 ZaDiG 2018 |
| The bank refuses | Any time | Tell you where to complain: the bank ombudsman or the courts | § 71 Abs. 2 ZaDiG 2018 |

Read against the consolidated ZaDiG 2018 on RIS, 12 October 2026.

To get a SEPA direct debit refunded in Austria, open the debit in your banking app and choose the refund option, or ask at the branch. Within **8 weeks** of the debit the bank must return the full amount **without asking for a reason**, and it has **10 business days** to refund or explain a refusal ([§ 70 Abs. 1 and § 71 Abs. 1 ZaDiG 2018](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20010182)). For a debit you never authorised the window is **13 months**.

A refund ends the bank’s part, not the debt. The law says so directly: the refund right **leaves the relationship** between you and the company **untouched** (§ 70 Abs. 4). If you owed the money, the company will bill you again, add its own costs for the returned debit, and can hand the claim to a debt collector. Use the 8-week refund for a wrong amount, a cancelled contract that kept billing, or a company that debited twice, and tell the company in writing why you reversed it.

Two traps catch newcomers. First, the unconditional refund applies to **SEPA Core** debits, the consumer scheme; a business-to-business mandate signed for a company account can exclude it. Second, the bank must refund **without charging** for an unauthorised debit. If yours deducts a fee for reversing a debit you never approved, take it to the free [Bankenschlichtung](https://www.bankenschlichtung.at/), which settled **55%** of its completed cases by agreement in **2025**.

## What Does a Bounced Direct Debit Cost in Austria?

| Bank and account | Fee when a debit fails for lack of funds | Price list date |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [easybank easy gratis](https://easybank.at/resource/blob/49330/6973c7db444ede78e12f2f04c6a8d73a/easy-gratis-data.pdf) | **€6.90** plus letter postage | 1 January 2026 |
| [Volksbank Salzburg, Kontomodell Direkt](https://www.volksbanksalzburg.at/ressourcen/salzburg/downloads/43c%20Kontomodell%20Direkt_2025-04-01.pdf) | **€7.90** up to €3,999.99; **€14.90** from €4,000 | 1 April 2025 |
| [BAWAG basic payment account (VZKG-Konto)](https://www.bawag.at/resource/blob/82742/afee11c27e83ffebf1fcac69d35c0520/for-vzkg-konto-data.pdf) | **€0** for the notice of non-execution | 1 January 2025 |

Fees read from each bank’s own price list. [Erste Bank](https://www.sparkasse.at), [Raiffeisen](https://www.raiffeisen.at) and [Bank Austria](https://www.bankaustria.at) publish this fee inside account-model price lists we could not read in a dated version, so they are not listed. Look for “Nichtdurchführung mangels Deckung” or “Rückbelastung mangels Deckung” in your own Konditionenaushang.

Worked example: a €30 phone bill debit bounces

| Item | Amount |
| --- | --- |
| The bill itself | €30.00 |
| Your bank, failed debit | €6.90 to €7.90, plus postage at some banks |
| The company’s bank charge, passed on | €3.00 to €8.75 |
| The company’s reminder | about €2.50, actual cost only |
| Total before any debt collector | about €42 to €49, so 41 to 64% on top of the bill |
| If it goes to Inkasso (claim under €73) | up to €20.35 processing plus €7.27 first reminder, net of VAT |

Our calculation, October 2026. Bank fees from the price lists above; the company-side range of €3 to €8.75 and the €2.50 reminder come from Arbeiterkammer and law-firm guidance summarised in our research (May 2026) and vary by company. The Inkasso row uses the printed caps of the Inkasso fee regulation, § 3 BGBl. Nr. 141/1996 as amended, which exclude VAT and are index-linked.

A bounced direct debit in Austria costs you twice. Your own bank charges for not executing it: **€6.90** plus postage at **easybank**, **€7.90** at **Volksbank Salzburg**. The company you owe then passes on its own bank’s return charge of roughly **€3 to €8.75** and a reminder. On a **€30** bill that adds **€12 to €19**, before any debt collector. A **basic payment account** under the VZKG keeps this cheap: BAWAG charges **€0** for the notice.

The company may only charge what the failed debit actually cost it. Under **§ 1333 Abs. 2 ABGB** a creditor can claim the **necessary costs** of collecting, and only where they are **proportionate** to the debt. A flat “processing fee” of **€10** or more for a returned debit is regularly challenged by consumer lawyers as above the real cost. Ask for the breakdown in writing before you pay it.

The cheapest fix is timing. If you know a debit will fail, pay the bill by transfer before the due date, then ask the company not to submit the debit, or reverse it yourself within **8 weeks** once you have paid. A bounced debit that turns into a debt-collection case adds the collector’s fees on top, and for a claim under **€73** those caps alone can reach **€27.62**. Our [debt collection guide](/banking/debt-collection) explains which of those fees you can refuse.

## Are Instant Transfers Free in Austria?

Yes. Since **9 October 2025** every Austrian bank must be able to send **instant euro transfers**, and it may not charge more for them than for a standard transfer. That is the **Instant Payments Regulation (EU) 2024/886**, which required banks to receive instant transfers from **9 January 2025**. Since standard online transfers are free at **[Erste Bank](https://www.sparkasse.at)**, **[Raiffeisen](https://www.raiffeisen.at)**, **[Bank Austria](https://www.bankaustria.at)**, **BAWAG**, **Volksbank** and **bank99**, instant ones are free too. The money arrives in under **10 seconds**.

The same date brought the payee name check. **Verification of Payee** compares the name you type with the name on the receiving account before you confirm, and shows one of three results: match, close match or no match. A **close match** is usually a spelling variant. A **no match** is the warning that matters, because instant transfers cannot be recalled once sent, and the check exists to stop a fake IBAN in an invoice.

Some Austrian banks charged **€0.30 to €0.55** per instant transfer before 2025. If a bank still charges extra where its standard transfer is free, the **OeNB** points customers to the [FMA complaints office](https://www.fma.gv.at/) (OeNB FAQ, 20 May 2026). Banks may still set a **daily instant limit**, and you can usually lower or raise it in the app. For transfers abroad, see our [money transfer guide](/banking/money-transfer).

## How Do You Pay a Zahlschein or QR-Code Invoice?

Scan it with your banking app. A **Zahlschein**, also called an **Erlagschein**, is the paper payment slip that Austrian utilities, landlords and authorities still post out. Many now carry a **QR code** that fills in IBAN, amount and payment reference in the app, so the online transfer costs **€0**. Paid at a branch counter, the same slip costs money: **€3.96** per counter transaction at **[Erste Bank](https://www.sparkasse.at)**, and **€3 to €7** across Austrian banks.

The counter fee hurts small bills most. A **€20** slip paid at an [Erste Bank](https://www.sparkasse.at) counter costs **€23.96**, which is **20%** extra; a **€10** slip costs **40%** extra. For anyone who cannot use online banking, the cheaper route is a **Dauerauftrag** or a direct debit set up once at the branch, rather than paying each slip at the counter.

Copy the **payment reference** (Zahlungsreferenz) exactly. Utilities and the tax office match payments by it, and a transfer with the wrong reference can be booked as unidentified, which is how a paid bill becomes a reminder. The QR code avoids that, which is a reason to scan rather than type even when you are at a computer.

### Paying the tax office

**FinanzOnline** accepts **eps**, so you can pay a tax assessment directly from your Austrian account without entering an IBAN. An eps payment to an authority is just as final as one to a shop, but here that is what you want.

## Which Law Protects You When a Payment Goes Wrong?

Every payment method on this page except cash falls under the **Zahlungsdienstegesetz 2018**, the Austrian law that implements the EU Payment Services Directive. It sets the **13-month** reporting window, the bank’s duty to refund unauthorised payments, the **€50** cap on your liability for a lost card, and the **8-week** direct debit refund. The block below names the statute, the supervisor and the free complaints route.

| The rules behind this page | ZaDiG § 80 |
| --- | --- |
| Law | [ZaDiG 2018, § 80: what the bank owes you for an unexecuted, defective or late payment](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20010182) |
| Regulator | [FMA account section, and the OeNB for payments](https://www.fma.gv.at/konto/) |
| Free tool | [Bankenschlichtung, the banking ombudsman, free for consumers](https://www.bankenschlichtung.at/) |
| Your right | An unauthorised debit must be refunded without delay and the account restored (§ 67 ZaDiG 2018). Where a payment is not executed, executed defectively or executed late, the bank is liable for it and owes the charges and interest you incurred (§§ 80, 82 ZaDiG 2018). Report it as soon as you notice, and at the latest within 13 months of the debit (§ 65 ZaDiG 2018). Taking the complaint to the banking ombudsman costs you nothing. |
| Applies since | 1 June 2018 |

Escalate in order. Complain to the bank in writing first and keep the date. If it refuses or does not answer, the **Bankenschlichtung** mediates for free. A bank breaking the rules themselves, for example charging extra for an instant transfer, is a case for the **FMA**. For a merchant dispute that is not the bank’s fault, the **Arbeiterkammer** consumer advice is free for employees in Austria.

## Related Guides

[Debit Cards in Austria: The Bankomatkarte, its fees and the best debit cards for newcomers.](/banking/debit-cards)

[Card Disputes: How to file an Umsatzreklamation and use the chargeback window.](/banking/card-disputes)

[Money Transfer: Sending money abroad from Austria, corridor by corridor.](/banking/money-transfer)

[Debt Collection: What an Inkasso agency may charge, and how to dispute it.](/banking/debt-collection)

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Can you reverse a SEPA direct debit after 8 weeks?

Only if you **never authorised** it. Within **8 weeks** of the debit you get the money back without giving a reason (**§ 70 Abs. 1** and **§ 71 Abs. 1 ZaDiG 2018**). After that, a debit you did authorise stays. A debit with no mandate behind it can be reported up to **13 months** after the debit date (**§ 65**), and the bank must refund it without delay (**§ 67**).

### Does eps have buyer protection?

No. An **eps** payment is a **bank transfer** released inside your own online banking, so it is **final** once you confirm it. There is **no chargeback**. If a shop never delivers, the only routes are a **recall request** through your bank and a **police report**. Use a **credit card** or **PayPal** goods-and-services for shops you do not know.

### Is PayPal Friends and Family protected in Austria?

No. **PayPal** buyer protection applies only to payments sent as **goods and services**. A **Friends and Family** payment has **no buyer protection**, which is exactly why marketplace fraudsters ask for it. Inside the EU in euro both options cost the buyer **€0**, so nothing is saved by taking the risk with a stranger.

### What does a bounced direct debit cost in Austria?

Your own bank charges for the failed debit: **easybank €6.90** plus letter postage (price list as of **1 January 2026**), **Volksbank Salzburg €7.90** up to €3,999.99 and **€14.90** above. The company you owe then adds its own costs, typically **€3 to €8.75** plus a reminder fee. Our worked example puts a bounced **€30** debit at **€42 to €49** before any debt collector is involved.

### Do shops in Austria have to accept cash or cards?

Euro notes and coins are **legal tender**, but **no Austrian law obliges a shop to accept cards**, so a cash-only café or market stall is legal. Nobody has to accept more than **50 coins** in one payment. Cash still made up **55%** of point-of-sale payments and **45%** of their value in the **OeNB** payment survey for **2025**.

### Can you pay cash into N26 or Revolut in Austria?

Not in any practical way. **N26** runs its **Cash26** deposit network in Germany, not in Austria, and neither app bank has branches here. If you handle cash, keep an **Austrian branch account** as well: a deposit at your own bank’s machine costs **€0** at Erste, **Raiffeisen** and **Bank Austria**, while a counter deposit at **Erste** costs **€3.96**.

### Are instant bank transfers free in Austria?

Yes, wherever a standard euro transfer is free. Since **9 October 2025** the **Instant Payments Regulation (EU) 2024/886** requires every Austrian bank to send instant euro transfers and forbids charging more for them than for a standard transfer. The same date made the payee name check, **Verification of Payee**, mandatory. Report a bank that still charges extra to the **FMA**.

### What changes for Klarna in Austria on 20 November 2026?

From **20 November 2026** the **Verbraucherkreditgesetz 2026** (BGBl. I Nr. 36/2026) treats buy-now-pay-later as **consumer credit**. **Klarna** and similar providers then have to **check your creditworthiness** first and may not grant credit after a negative check. Paying on time still costs **€0**; a missed payment still runs reminder, debt collection and **KSV1870** entry.

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Source: https://www.how-to-austria.com/banking/payment-methods
Last updated: Updated: October 12 2026
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