eBay's new managing payments service enters UK market

This morning it was announced that the UK will be the third market to introduce eBay’s new managed payments experience.

eBay will expand its management of payments to the UK, in line with its corporate strategy to globalise and streamline services. The service, which will be rolled out this summer, will seek to provide more flexibility and options in payment methods. New payment methods will include credit card, Google Pay and PayPal, as well as Apple Pay for payments made through iPhones and iPads. The UK will be the third market to offer this experience, following on from the US and Germany.

“We’re creating a modern managed marketplace. Taking control of the payments process on our platform is a key component of our strategy to enhance the eBay experience by breaking down barriers and removing complexities for our customers,” said VP of Global Payments, Alyssa Cutright. “We’ve seen great success in the US and Germany and we’re thrilled to expand to the UK.”

This payment overhaul started in the US in 2018, with a select group of sellers, before expanding to Germany in 2019. According to the online marketplace, this rollout has been timed in accordance with the expiry of eBay’s Operating Agreement with PayPal, which expires in Q3 this year. 

“By starting to manage payments in the UK. this year, we’re taking another step to deliver improvements for our customers,” said VP of eBay UK, Rob Hattrell. “We know that sellers and buyers expect smooth and seamless transactions, and this new payments experience is designed to offer exactly that. In the coming months, we will make the transition as smooth as possible for sellers so they can take advantage of this important update quickly.”

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The results of this shift have already been significant. eBay has processed as much as $2bn in GMV for almost 25,000 sellers at the end of Q4 in 2019. In addition to this, the shift has also saved sellers almost $10mn, marking tremendous progress as well as an excellent trajectory for 2020. eBay expects the majority of the UK rollout to sellers and customers to be complete by 2021.

Did you know? The first item ever sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer. eBay founder Pierre Omidyar placed the item for sale for $1, but following the first online bidding war, sold the pointer for $14 to a collector of broken laser pointers.

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