eBay Germany & Riverty Monthly Invoice Payments: What Sellers Need To Know

eBay Germany announced last week that they have partnered with Riverty to give buyers more flexible payment options, allowing them to have orders accrue and be paid on a monthly invoice - but what do sellers need to know about how this payment option will work?

The new Buy Now, Pay By The Middle Of Next Month invoice option promises to give buyers greater payment flexibility while also promising nothing will change for sellers.

New Payment Option on eBay: Buy Now, Pay by the Middle of the Next Month in One Invoice

The monthly invoice offers great flexibility, as customers receive their purchases for an entire month in one invoice and can then pay by direct debit or bank transfer.

eBay Inc.

The online marketplace eBay is introducing a new payment option in Germany. eBay shoppers can now use the “monthly invoice” and pay for their monthly purchases in a single invoice they receive on the first calendar day of the month.

The new payment option, a popular way to pay in Germany, offers even greater flexibility and control to German eBay shoppers in how they pay when they purchase on eBay...

...Nothing changes for eBay sellers with the monthly invoice, they receive their money as before in accordance with the agreed payout plan.

The press release goes on to explain that buyers do not need to create a separate account to access this option - on the first calendar day of the month, they will receive an invoice for all applicable purchases that can be paid within 14 days, with no additional fees for the buyer if a payment is made on time.

Unfortunately, the press release doesn't give any other details about how Riverty invoicing works on the seller side and, understandably, some sellers might be skeptical of the simple statement that nothing will be changing for them.

For further information, you'll need to wade into the eBay.de policy pages (in my case) with a little help from Google translate.

First, here's what eBay offers for buyers who have questions about Riverty monthly invoice:

How it works

• Pay with "Monthly Billing"
  Simply select it as your payment method. You don't need an extra account, just your date of birth and address.

• Continue shopping until the end of the month
  You will receive a consolidated invoice for your purchased items on the first day of the following month.

• Pay the bill
  After receiving it, you have 14 days to pay your collective invoice. You can simply transfer the money.

FAQs

What is a monthly statement?
With the monthly billing payment method, you can combine several purchases into one invoice each month. For example, your purchases in September are combined into one invoice, which you then pay in October. The monthly billing is handled by Riverty, a trusted eBay partner.

How do I use the monthly statement?
At checkout, select "Monthly Billing" as your payment method. We'll create a new invoice with your order or add it to your existing invoice for that month.

What happens if I pay by monthly invoice?
When you select monthly billing and complete payment, the purchase will be added to a consolidated invoice for that month. Sellers will be paid in full and your item will ship as normal. Using monthly billing will not affect when your item ships.

How is my data processed?
eBay works with the reliable payment service provider Riverty to process monthly billing. When you place an order, eBay sends your Name, address, email address and date of birth to Riverty to verify eligibility and add the purchase to your invoice.

You may not be able to add purchases to an invoice if:

• Your information is incorrect or cannot be verified.
• You have an overdue amount on a previous invoice.
• You are not eligible for monthly bills.
  
  

How do I pay my bill?
At the end of the month, your invoice will be finalized and you will receive an email from Riverty with your invoice amount/balance and payment information. Payment is due 14 days after receiving your finalized invoice.

Can I pay for an item before the due date?
You can pay your monthly bill in full or in part at any time before the due date.

What happens if I cancel a purchase or return an item?
When you use monthly billing, you only pay for the items you want to keep. If you have a current abandoned cart or return, Riverty will move up the due date so you have more time to take care of it.

The important part for sellers: "Sellers will be paid in full and your item will ship as normal. Using monthly billing will not affect when your item ships."

On the eBay.de help page about payments, users are directed to specific terms and conditions for Riverty, as well as a separate page for other Buy Now, Pay Later options eBay offers through Klarna.

Riverty makes it clear that as soon as a contract has been concluded between the buyer and seller for an order using monthly billing, the seller assigns any current and future claim that is to be paid by the buyer to Riverty.

Cutting through the legalese - that basically means Riverty pays the seller upfront on the buyer's behalf, which transfers the claim of money owed by the buyer to be paid to Riverty when the invoice comes due.

Riverty also says that contract is only for payment processing - sellers are still responsible for delivering the item advertised as described and the performance of any/all warranty, consumer protections or other obligations as required by applicable German or EU laws.

Those terms seem pretty straightforward and relatively in line with other popular Buy Now, Pay Later services.

One common question I've heard from sellers is - what happens if the buyer skips out and doesn't pay their monthly invoice? Will Riverty try to claw back the payment from the seller?

The answer there appears to be a pretty clear "no."

Because the claim to money owed by the buyer has been assigned to Riverty for these payments, the contract at that point is between Riverty and the buyer, with the seller being taken out of the equation.

If the buyer does not honor that contract, Riverty has the right to assess fees for late payments or take other action to compel payment from the buyer, including referring any debt owed to 3rd party collections agencies if needed.

But there is nothing in these terms that would allow Riverty to take payment back from the seller, because their contract is not with the seller - just like a credit card company generally can't take funds back from merchants if their customer (the card holder) doesn't make the monthly minimum payment on their balance.

What about returns and refunds?

I didn't find anything in the Riverty terms that specifically addresses returns and refunds, but the eBay.de policy page for buyers about Paying With A Monthly Invoice says this:

Refunds for payments with monthly billing
If you have not yet paid the invoice, the refund amount will be deducted from the invoice amount.

If you have already paid the invoice, the refund amount will be credited back to the bank account from which you transferred the invoice amount or from which it was debited.

For more information about eBay refunds, visit our Returning an item for a refund help page .

That would indicate on the seller side, returns/refunds are handled the same way they would be for orders using any other payment method and that eBay will figure out on their side (in conjunction with Riverty) whether any refunded amount would be applied to the buyer's Riverty invoice balance or credited to their bank account.

So with the usual caveats that I am not a lawyer or financial advisor, nor a native German speaker, it appears that eBay's press release is in fact correct - nothing changes for sellers when buyers use Riverty monthly invoicing.

Do you have other questions or concerns about eBay's partnership with Riverty and would you like to see more Buy Now, Pay Later options like this come to the US site? Let me know in the comments below!