Overview
Amazon is preparing another change for customers in Austria shortly after the introduction of the country’s parcel tax. In the coming weeks, the company will discontinue its monthly invoicing option, which allowed customers to combine several purchases and pay for them together at the end of the month.
Customers who currently use monthly invoicing will instead be moved to standard invoice payments. Each order, including subscription orders, will receive a separate invoice, with customers given 14 days to make the payment. Amazon is already informing affected users about the change.
The company said the decision is linked to new consumer credit rules taking effect on Nov. 20. The requirements also extend to payment arrangements involving smaller amounts, making the existing monthly invoicing model more difficult to maintain without adding complexity for customers.
Amazon said adapting monthly invoicing to the new requirements would have made the payment process more complicated. It therefore decided to switch customers to the traditional invoice model, which the company described as simpler and more transparent.
Standard invoice purchases will remain available
The change doesn’t mean Amazon is removing invoice payments altogether. Customers will still be able to receive their orders before paying, but each purchase will now be billed separately instead of being grouped into a single monthly statement.
The payment deadline for each invoice will be 14 days. The same structure will apply to subscriptions, which will also generate individual invoices rather than being included in a monthly total.
The shift follows implementation of the new EU Consumer Credit Directive, which introduces tighter requirements for deferred-payment products and other forms of consumer credit.
Stricter rules for buy now, pay later services
The regulatory changes extend beyond Amazon. Buy now, pay later services and smaller deferred-payment arrangements will face stricter requirements under the new rules.
Providers will have to give customers more detailed information before an agreement is concluded, including information about costs, interest and withdrawal rights. The information must be provided free of charge, and customers must give explicit consent before entering into the agreement.
The rules also introduce stronger requirements around creditworthiness checks. If a provider concludes from a customer’s financial situation that the agreed payments are unlikely to be affordable, the credit must not be granted.
The aim is to reduce the risk of consumers accumulating debt through several small financing arrangements.
Klarna also preparing for new requirements
Klarna is also preparing for the regulatory changes. The company said it has already implemented several requirements, including credit checks and greater transparency around costs and contractual conditions.
Klarna’s “Pay in 30 days” option has not been discontinued because of the new rules. The feature was temporarily unavailable at some retailers recently, but Klarna attributed that disruption to an internal technical issue and said it has since been resolved.
