Standards/lhv-linkpay
LHV LinkPay
Overview
LHV LinkPay is LHV Pank's (Estonia's largest domestic bank) flexible payment-link + QR-code product for business invoice collection [1, 2, [ee-cro]]. LinkPay generates a payment link that customers can pay via bank-link, Apple Pay, or Google Pay — the link can be added to a company website, sent by email, included on an invoice, or shared as a QR code. Payment processing is instant if the customer's bank participates in the SEPA SCT Inst instant-payment system — funds reach the LHV account within seconds.
LHV is structurally distinctive: Estonia's largest domestically-owned bank (most other Estonian banks are Scandinavian subsidiaries), with a strong fintech-friendly positioning that mirrors Lithuania's centrolink approach. LinkPay integrates with popular Estonian accounting software (Directo, Smart Accounts, SimplBooks, Standard Books by Excellent), making it the de-facto-default invoice-payment-collection mechanism for Estonian SMEs. The flexibility — fixed amount or client-chosen, multi-channel distribution (email/invoice/web/QR), multi-payment-method (bank-link/Apple Pay/Google Pay) — positions LinkPay as a business-receivables-management tool more than a pure consumer wallet.
History
Background — LHV Pank EE:
- LHV Pank founded 1999 as investment company; received banking license 2009.
- Estonia's largest domestically-owned bank by 2020s.
- Strong fintech-friendly positioning (sister to Lithuania's CENTROlink ecosystem).
Bank links + payment-acquiring evolution [1]:
- LHV operates bank-link payment-acquiring for Estonian merchants.
- Multiple bank-link integrations (Swedbank, SEB, Luminor, etc.).
LinkPay launch [2]:
- LinkPay positioned as flexible payment-link + QR product.
- Multi-channel distribution: website, email, invoice, QR.
Accounting-software integration [2]:
- Integrates with Directo, Smart Accounts, SimplBooks, Standard Books by Excellent.
- Critical for SME-receivables-management workflow.
Technical specification
LHV LinkPay is a flexible payment-link + QR product on top of bank-link + SEPA SCT Inst [1, 2]:
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Operator | LHV Pank (LHV Group AS — Estonia's largest domestic bank) |
| Distribution channels | Website, email, invoice, QR code |
| Payment methods | Bank-link, Apple Pay, Google Pay |
| Settlement (SEPA SCT Inst) | Instant if customer bank participates |
| Settlement (non-instant) | Same-day or next-day |
| Currency | EUR |
| Amount options | Fixed amount or client-chosen |
| Accounting integrations | Directo, Smart Accounts, SimplBooks, Standard Books by Excellent |
| Receivables credit | Immediate on completion |
Flow [2]:
- Business creates LinkPay → distributes (email/invoice/web/QR).
- Customer clicks/scans → pays via bank-link or Apple Pay / Google Pay.
- Receivables credited to LHV business account immediately or instantly via SCT Inst.
Use cases
Invoice payment collection [2]: Cardinal — Estonian SMEs collect invoice payments via LinkPay.
E-commerce checkout [2]: LinkPay integrated into merchant websites.
Pop-up sales / event ticketing [2]: Distribute QR for ad-hoc collection.
P2P-adjacent (small-merchant) [2]: Lower-friction than full e-commerce-gateway integration.
Implementations & ecosystem
Operator: LHV Pank.
Accounting partners: Directo, Smart Accounts, SimplBooks, Standard Books by Excellent.
Estonian bank-link participants: Swedbank, SEB, Luminor, Coop Pank, others.
Geographic scope: Estonia primary.
Fun facts
- LHV is Estonia's largest domestically-owned bank: Most other Estonian banks are Scandinavian subsidiaries (Swedbank, SEB, etc.). LHV's domestic-ownership status gives it different strategic positioning.
- Multi-distribution-channel design: LinkPay's flexibility (link distributable via email/web/QR/invoice) is structurally more flexible than QR-only or app-only peers.
- Accounting-software native integration: Directo, Smart Accounts, SimplBooks — designed for SME workflow integration, not just consumer payment.
- Apple Pay + Google Pay support: Beyond bank-link, LinkPay accepts NFC-wallet payment.
- SEPA SCT Inst instant settlement: If customer's bank participates in SCT Inst, payment reaches LHV business account within seconds — instant working-capital improvement for SMEs.
- Estonia's broader fintech-hub positioning: LHV is part of Estonia's fintech-friendly ecosystem alongside Wise (TransferWise, founded in Estonia), Bolt, and others.
Comparison
| Feature | LHV LinkPay (EE) | fawri-plus (BH) | LinkPay (NL) | Klarna SOFORT (DE/EU) | centrolink (LT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | LHV Pank | BENEFIT | Various | Klarna | Bank of Lithuania |
| Type | Payment link + QR | Instant rail | Payment link | Bank-redirect | SEPA gateway |
| QR support | Yes | n/a (via BenefitPay) | Yes | No | n/a |
| Accounting integration | Yes (Directo + others) | Limited | Some | No | n/a |
| Instant settlement | Yes (SCT Inst) | <30s | Some | n/a | <10s via SCT Inst |
Status
- LHV Pank operator.
- Multi-channel distribution (web/email/invoice/QR).
- Multi-payment-method (bank-link, Apple Pay, Google Pay).
- Accounting-software native integration.
- Instant settlement via SEPA SCT Inst when available.
Sources
- 1 LHV payment acquiring
- 2 LHV bank link
- [ee-cro]
reports/countries/EE-estonia.md
Deployments
Found in the following country reports (grep across reports/countries/):
- EE — EE-estonia.md