DHL offers cash-on-delivery payment for e-commerce in SE Asia

What’s the opposite of digitalization? DHL e-commerce’s new cash-on-delivery service, which allows consumers to pay for international online purchases with cash as a part of the company’s “parcel international direct” channel. The service targets sellers based in China and Australia that deliver to consumers in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

“Despite growing credit card adoption in Southeast Asia, the low level of credit card penetration has forced e-commerce retailers to offer alternative modes of payment methods such as cash on delivery, digital payments and in some cases paying in-store,” said Charles Brewer, CEO of DHL eCommerce.

Cash can be an unappealing payment form for sellers due to the receipt of payment at the end of the supply chain – after the cargo has racked up transportation costs – as opposed to receiving payment the beginning. However, accepting cash as a payment method for e-commerce opens an untapped market of consumers; DHL said that 73 percent of Southeast Asian consumers are still “unbanked,” which means cash is often their only payment option.

DHL’s exporter customers in China and Australia will have access to its standard services, like parcel pick-up, IT integration of inventory into DHL’s shipping process, end-to-end tracking, returns management, and a three- to five-day shipping timeline.