eBay will soon allow buyers to make wire transfers to pay for certain types of goods, according to the company’s Chief Growth Officer Julie Loeger. The news came during her presentation to investors and Wall Street analysts at eBay Investor Day on Thursday.
Loeger said eBay was improving the experience for buyers by offering additional choices for high-ASP transactions (Average Selling Price). For the first time, eBay will offer more payment solutions such as wire transfers and split payments. “We’re building trust and credibility with each sale, and letting customers know eBay is standing behind them,” she said.
Some examples she cited of the kinds of transactions that are “happening every day” on eBay included the sale of a $23,000 engagement ring, a bundle of Oculus VR headsets for $90,000, and a rare set of Hot Wheels for $4,000.
“All these customers will soon have more payment options to choose from,” she said.
Starting in Q2, eBay will also extend buyers a choice of currency options so they can take advantage of eBay’s cross-border presence. “They will be able to shop in the currency of their choice. It’s one of the many ways we’re taking friction out of the buying experience,” Loeger said.
AfterPay was a huge success in Australia, with buyers loving the convenience of buy now, pay later options. And eBay is working to expand payment options even further. “For the first time, we will offer two of the top payment methods in Germany: Klarna Invoice and Financing.
“Karna and AfterPay are just the beginning,” Loeger said. “We’ll be announcing more payment methods soon to position eBay as a go-to shopping destination for the next generation of new and existing buyers.”
eBay CEO Jamie Iannone had kicked off yesterday’s event with a presentation where he announced a forthcoming digital wallet.
Giving shoppers more options to pay for goods will likely help sellers as eBay manages the checkout flow, as long as eBay has adequate risk-management tools and protects sellers from potential fraudsters or bad buyers.
You can read more about it in today’s blog post, “eBay Digital Wallet: What’s In It for Sellers?” We invite readers to let us know what they think of the latest payment news from eBay as a buyer and as a seller.
