Physical commerce

Physical commerce is still heavily optimized around cards and dedicated terminal hardware - which means acceptance costs, complex acquiring stacks, and limited payment data for reconciliation. In the EU, cards still dominate point-of-sale payments by value, and merchants ultimately bear meaningful card-related charges.

There’s also a very practical “showstopper” in some physical scenarios (fuel, tolls, high-value retail): businesses want a cashless flow with strong security and fast confirmation, without pushing customers into unfamiliar devices or steps.

With SEPA Request to Pay (SRTP), a real-world action (fueling, entering a toll lane) can trigger a structured request that the customer approves inside their trusted banking app. Initiation happens at the pump/booth via a dynamic QR code or NFC tap; once accepted, the merchant receives real-time confirmation and the payment can follow via (instant) SEPA credit transfer.

Because SRTP is a messaging layer before the money moves, it can carry clean, structured references (invoice/receipt details) that make downstream settlement and matching dramatically simpler.

Businesses that enable SRTP inside their apps (or at physical touchpoints) unlock: real-time payment visibility at the pump/booth, lower operational dependency on card infrastructure, and a more controlled customer journey where approval happens in-bank with clear merchant/amount/reference shown to the payer.

They also gain better data for reconciliation (structured references, receipt-like details), plus a foundation for omnichannel flows where the same SRTP logic works in-store, in-app, and online - without inventing a new “wallet” users must trust.