Germans prefer to pay online by invoice. Amazon goes one step further and enables payment in a single monthly statement.

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The numbers are clear: Despite digital payment options such as PayPal, Apple Pay or credit card, most Germans pay for their online purchases by invoice. According to analyses by the EHI Retail Institute, this classic means of payment accounted for over 30 percent of German e-commerce sales. Apparently, the online giant Amazon was also convinced of this. Since the end of March, Amazon.de customers have been able to pay their monthly purchases free of charge with a single invoice. This eliminates the previous fee of 1.50 euros per purchase for payment on account. Users of this new monthly invoice option receive a collected invoice for all purchases made in the previous month at the beginning of the month. This invoice can be paid within 14 days. The monthly invoice applies to products offered by both Amazon and sellers on Amazon.com.

Amazon waives previously levied fees for invoice purchase

Amazon is thus further expanding its customer service and is likely to put competition under pressure. Up to now, free monthly billing has hardly been represented there. Although H&M offers monthly billing, it does charge fees. The reason is clear: buying on account entails a risk of default for the retailer. After all, he sends the goods without having received any money beforehand. This risk can multiply when all purchases of a month are combined into a single invoice. Nevertheless, Amazon’s introduction of the monthly bill should meet the wishes of many customers. This is shown only by the turnaround of the online giant and the renunciation of previously incurred fees for invoices.

Zalando abolishes Apple Pay

In addition to Amazon, other online giants are also moving in payment traffic. Zalando has abolished Apple Pay, a payment service introduced with praise, after a good three months. The reasons for this were that Apple Pay did not allow the choice of different shipping methods, delivery to packing station or parcel shops or the redemption of vouchers and gift cards. This was announced by Zalando on Twitter. On the other hand, things are going well for PayPal. More and more merchants are offering this payment service, which once started as an ebay subsidiary. According to Statista, the transaction volume with PayPal worldwide has increased within eight years from around 26 to over 163 billion US dollars in the fourth quarter of 2018. In Germany alone, the market share is now expected to be around 20 percent.

 

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Link: The online giant Amazon has changed its strategy and now makes it possible to pay the purchases of a month with only one invoice.

Image: Unsplash

//KH