Apple no longer accepts money transfers in German online store
Apple in a recent change to international retail policy eliminated money transfers, otherwise known as prepayment, as a purchase option on its online store in Germany.
As noted by local blog Macerkopf, Apple no longer accepts payment by money transfer, or ?berweisung, through its German online store, meaning customers must pay via credit card, PayPal/ELV or installment based financing.
Prior to the change, customers who elected to use the money transfer option had to route bank transfers through Apple partner WorldPay Customer Payments. According to the report, wire transfers could potentially lead to shipping delays, as Apple would send out orders only after receiving payment.
An Apple support document, which is still live on the company's website as of this writing, says processing of payments might in some cases take up to five days to post. Translated to real world shipments, prepayments could in some cases delay fulfillment by weeks, the report said.
Why Apple chose to abandon the prepayment option in Germany is unclear.
The retail change comes amidst a wider push to introduce Apple Pay to a growing international audience. Though not yet available in Germany, evidence suggests Apple is preparing to launch the fledgling service there in the near future. In October, for example, the company posted an Apple Pay support page to its regional German website, suggesting a future debut is in the offing.
As noted by local blog Macerkopf, Apple no longer accepts payment by money transfer, or ?berweisung, through its German online store, meaning customers must pay via credit card, PayPal/ELV or installment based financing.
Prior to the change, customers who elected to use the money transfer option had to route bank transfers through Apple partner WorldPay Customer Payments. According to the report, wire transfers could potentially lead to shipping delays, as Apple would send out orders only after receiving payment.
An Apple support document, which is still live on the company's website as of this writing, says processing of payments might in some cases take up to five days to post. Translated to real world shipments, prepayments could in some cases delay fulfillment by weeks, the report said.
Why Apple chose to abandon the prepayment option in Germany is unclear.
The retail change comes amidst a wider push to introduce Apple Pay to a growing international audience. Though not yet available in Germany, evidence suggests Apple is preparing to launch the fledgling service there in the near future. In October, for example, the company posted an Apple Pay support page to its regional German website, suggesting a future debut is in the offing.
Comments
In fact, don't really get real "credit" cards. Ours are balanced monthly.
So you don't get the standard credit cards at all, or is it just bank-specific?
Don't expect for them to use more credit cards. The German language uses the same word for debt and guilt - same goes for the North Germanic languages (Danish, Swedish, Norwegian). We however use mostly debit cards.
Our "credit" card is balanced and all debts are paid off at the end of each month.
It's a completely different business model.
And, having been in sales, I can tell you it's not the customers who don't want to use them, it's the shops who refuse to accept them and pay the insane rates to the CC companies.
Classical wire bank transfer is on our account next day so when somebody order evening, order is shipped next day as he/her would choose pay on delivery.
It is more convenient to accept cards in real shop then in online shop because you are dependent of whether your eshop solution has implemented support of specific gateway otherwise you have to pay implementation yourself. And it is not cheap.
On other side I use card payment often if available since contactless terminals are nearby everywhere especially in supermarkets or on gas stations.
Turning the availability of a specific product into an issue of FREEDOM!!!1!!1GO USA!
FWIW:
We do get that model here, as well. It's available — it's just extremely uncommon. I don't think I've ever met anybody who used it.
All cards issued here tend to be charge cards, balanced monthly.
Interestingly, US companies take on very little debt (relative to their debt capacity), while German firms tend to be far more leveraged. In other words, consumers are over-leveraged and corporations under-leveraged in the US, the exact opposite of what happens in Germany.
That said, yes, at least in principle, there's the element of greater consumer freedom in the US compared to almost anywhere else in the world, most especially Europe, where retailing is heavily regulated.