On December 22nd eBay announced their purchase of BillSAFE, a German online payment company, without disclosing the price or terms of the acquisition. BillSAFE provides a “purchase-on-invoice’” service which allows consumers to shop online and receive the invoice for payment when the product arrives. This type of alternative payment method is popular in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland.
eBay originally invested in BillSAFE in October 2010 taking a minority stake in the company. Now with the full acquisition of the company eBay will be complimenting their alternative payments offering centered on PayPal. 19.6 percent of eCommerce payments in Germany were billed with an invoice, so this acquisition helps eBay and PayPal cater to the regional payment preferences of consumers. This deal marks eBay’s second acquisition of an online alternative payment service following the purchase of mobile payment provider Zong for $240 million in the summer of 2011.
For more information: eBay Inc. Acquires BillSAFE