# Flik > Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/flik > research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-06 > Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards Specifications: - [Flik Pay — Bankart](https://www.bankart.si/en/flik-pay/) - [Instant payment environment in Slovenia — EPC](https://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/news-insights/insight/instant-payment-environment-slovenia) ## Overview **Flik** is **Slovenia's national instant-payment system**, launched in **late 2019** by **all 15 Slovenian commercial and savings banks** in cooperation with **Bankart** (Slovenia's national payment processor), with **Banka Slovenije** (central bank) as catalyst [1][1], [2][2], [Slovenia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/SI). Flik is structurally a textbook **bank-consortium-coordinated national instant-payment system** built atop SEPA SCT Inst infrastructure — supporting **P2P transfers via phone contacts** and **merchant QR payments at POS** with transactions processed **within seconds, 24/7/365**. The launch wave: **13 of 15 Slovenian banks went live by end-2019 or early 2020**, with the remaining banks following. A structurally distinctive feature: **11 of the 15 participating banks developed their own dedicated Flik mobile app**, while the remaining 4 integrated Flik into their existing mobile-banking apps — meaning the Flik brand is **simultaneously a standalone app and an in-bank-app feature** depending on which Slovenian bank a customer uses [1][1]. The **EUR 15,000 per-transaction cap** is generous relative to peer P2P apps and reflects Slovenia's positioning of Flik as both a P2P and B2B/B2C payment vehicle. Flik is operated within the European SEPA SCT Inst framework, making it technically interoperable across the eurozone for instant euro transfers. ## History **Background — Slovenian payment landscape pre-2019** [Slovenia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/SI): - Slovenia uses **EUR** (eurozone member since 2007). - Highly cooperative Slovenian banking sector — 15 commercial/savings banks coordinate via shared infrastructure. - **Bankart** — Slovenia's national payment processor (operates card networks + clearing). - Pre-Flik: cross-bank SEPA transfers settled **every 2 hours, 4:30pm cutoff, weekdays only** — the typical SEPA batch model. **~2018-2019 — Flik design + bank-consortium agreement** [1][1]: - All 15 Slovenian commercial + savings banks agree to develop Flik. - Bankart contracted as technical operator. - Banka Slovenije provides regulatory catalyst. **Late 2019 / early 2020 — Flik launches** [1][1], [2][2]: - **13 of 15 banks go live by end-2019 / early-2020**. - Another bank scheduled for mid-2020. - **EUR 15,000 transaction cap**. - 24/7/365 instant settlement. **Multi-app distribution** [1][1]: - **11 of 15 banks** developed standalone Flik app. - **4 of 15 banks** integrated Flik into existing mobile-banking apps. **Mature operation (2020+)** [Slovenia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/SI): - Flik becomes Slovenia's de facto instant-payment standard. - QR-payment use cases at POS expand. ## Technical specification Flik is **a bank-consortium-coordinated SEPA-SCT-Inst-based national instant-payment system** [1][1], [2][2]: | Layer | Description | |---|---| | **Operator** | **Bankart** (Slovenian national payment processor) | | **Owner/governance** | 15 Slovenian commercial + savings banks | | **Catalyst regulator** | **Banka Slovenije** (central bank) | | **Underlying rail** | SEPA SCT Inst | | **Settlement** | Instant, 24/7/365 | | **Currency** | EUR | | **Identifier** | Phone contacts (mobile-number-based P2P) | | **Transaction cap** | **EUR 15,000** per transfer | | **QR support** | Customer scans POS terminal QR via Flik pay button | | **Authentication** | PIN or biometric | | **Multi-app distribution** | 11 standalone apps + 4 integrated into bank apps | **Payment flow at POS** [1][1]: - Merchant displays POS-terminal QR. - Customer opens Flik pay (in standalone app or bank app). - Authenticates with PIN or biometric. - Scans QR → instant settlement. **P2P flow** [1][1]: - Sender opens Flik → selects recipient from phone contacts. - Enters amount → biometric/PIN confirm. - Recipient receives within seconds. **Banka Slovenije's "catalyst" role** [2][2]: - Central bank doesn't operate Flik directly. - Instead acts as regulatory catalyst for bank-consortium coordination. - This structural model (central-bank-as-catalyst, not operator) is similar to MAS for [PayNow QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/paynow-qr) in Singapore. ## Use cases **P2P transfers** [1][1]: Cardinal use case — phone-contact-based money transfer. Instant, free. **Retail POS payment via QR** [1][1]: Customer scans POS QR with Flik pay → instant settlement at merchant. **Cross-bank without IBAN entry** [2][2]: Major UX win — pre-Flik Slovenian cross-bank transfers required IBAN entry and 2-hour SEPA cycles. **B2B-eligible** [2][2]: EUR 15,000 cap makes Flik viable for small-B2B and B2C use cases beyond pure P2P. **SEPA SCT Inst interoperability** [2][2]: Flik transactions ride on SCT Inst rail — theoretically interoperable with other EU instant-payment-eligible accounts. ## Implementations & ecosystem **Operator**: **Bankart** (Slovenian payment processor). **Owner**: **15 Slovenian commercial + savings banks** (joint). **Catalyst regulator**: **Banka Slovenije**. **Participating banks** [Slovenia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/SI): - **NLB** (Nova Ljubljanska banka, largest). - **NKBM** (Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor, KBC-owned). - **SKB Banka** (Société Générale subsidiary). - **Intesa Sanpaolo Bank** (Italian subsidiary). - **Sberbank Slovenia** (status post-sanctions complex). - **Addiko Bank**. - **UniCredit Banka Slovenija**. - **Hranilnice** (savings banks). - And other Slovenian commercial banks. **No public open-source SDK** — Flik integration via participating-bank APIs. ## Fun facts - **15 banks coordinated from day 1**: Slovenia's small banking sector (~15 commercial + savings banks) enabled comprehensive consortium-coordination — harder in larger markets. - **11 standalone apps + 4 integrated**: The mix-and-match Flik distribution model is structurally unusual — most peer national P2P apps are either single-app (Bizum, Tikkie) or multi-bank-app-integrated (PayNow). Flik is both. - **EUR 15,000 per-transfer cap is generous**: Above most P2P-app caps; reflects positioning beyond pure P2P into small-B2B/B2C. - **Central-bank-as-catalyst, not operator**: Banka Slovenije coordinated but doesn't operate — the same model as MAS for [PayNow QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/paynow-qr) Singapore. Different from [MIA QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mia-qr) Moldova where NBM operates directly. - **Pre-Flik 2-hour SEPA cycles**: Slovenia's pre-Flik SEPA-batch settlement (every 2 hours, 4:30pm cutoff, weekdays-only) was typical of pre-instant-payment European banking. Flik eliminated this friction. - **Aleksander Kurtevski of Bankart**: Bankart CEO was a notable public advocate for instant-payments rollout — frequently posted updates as Flik went live. - **Multi-modal access**: P2P phone-contacts + POS QR + bank-app-integration covers all standard mobile-payment patterns from a single rail. - **Quietness in international fintech press**: Like [EPS](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/eps) Austria, Flik is structurally important domestically but receives relatively little international fintech-media attention. ## Comparison | Feature | Flik (SI) | [Blink](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/blink) (BG) | [Bizum](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bizum) (ES) | [MB WAY QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mb-way-qr) (PT) | [BANCOMAT Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bancomat-pay) (IT) | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Operator | Bankart | BORICA AD | Bizum SL | SIBS (PT bank consortium) | BANCOMAT S.p.A. + Nexi | | Launch | Late 2019 | 2021 | Oct 2016 | 2014 | Mid-2010s (rebrand) | | Currency | EUR | BGN (+EUR via TIPS) | EUR | EUR | EUR | | Banks | 15 (all Slovenian) | 27+ | ~30+ | Major PT banks | All Italian banks via Visa/Bancomat card | | Identifier | Phone contacts | IBAN + mobile (since 2023) | Mobile number | Mobile + IBAN | Mobile | | Transaction cap | **EUR 15,000** | n/a | EUR 1,000 (consumer) | n/a | n/a | | App model | **11 standalone + 4 integrated** | Bank apps | Bizum + bank apps | Standalone + bank apps | Standalone + bank apps | **Closest peer**: [BANCOMAT Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bancomat-pay) (IT) — both are bank-consortium A2A products in small-to-mid eurozone economies. **Structural distinction**: Flik's **mix of standalone + bank-integrated apps** is structurally unique — neither pure single-app nor pure multi-bank-app. ## Status **Active, dominant Slovenian instant-payment system** [1][1], [2][2], [Slovenia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/SI): - **15 Slovenian banks** participating. - **Bankart-operated** under Banka Slovenije catalyst supervision. - **24/7/365** instant, **EUR 15,000 cap**. - **11 standalone Flik apps + 4 bank-app-integrated**. - **POS QR support**. - **SEPA SCT Inst** rail. **Outlook**: Continued saturation in Slovenia; possible cross-border integration via [Wero](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/wero) or other EPC initiatives; deeper merchant-QR acceptance expansion. ## Sources [1]: https://www.bankart.si/en/flik-pay/ "Flik Pay — Bankart" [2]: https://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/news-insights/insight/instant-payment-environment-slovenia "Instant payment environment in Slovenia — EPC" - [1] [Flik Pay — Bankart][1] - [2] [Instant payments in Slovenia — EPC][2] - [Slovenia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/SI) `reports/countries/SI-slovenia.md` ## Deployments Found in the following country reports (grep across `reports/countries/`): - **SI** — [SI-slovenia.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/SI)