DPD extends Czech cash-on-delivery to Germany and Slovakia
Parcel delivery company DPD is expanding its portfolio of international service available for customers in the Czech Republic. The company’s DPD CZ unit is now offering a cash on demand service for delivery from the Republic to four countries – Poland, Hungary, Germany and Slovakia.
Previously, the service was only available for deliveries to Poland and Hungary.
Internet merchants in particular will now be able to sell products to customers in these four countries and have those customers paying for the items when they are received.
The service requires e-commerce merchants and Czech exporters to price their goods in the currency of the parcel recipients.
Daniel Mareš, the chief executive at DPD CZ, said extending the option for paying cash on delivery to a further two countries came as a response to demand from businesses in the Czech market – and particularly from the e-commerce sector.
“We are simplifying life for Czech exporters and we are opening new possibilities for Internet sales,” he said.
The DPD chief said that paying cash on delivery was a very popular payment method in Central and Eastern Europe, a characteristic that made the region significantly different to other, more developed markets in Europe.
“Customers do not have a great deal of confidence in paying by card directly over the Internet, and therefore payment for transported foods in cash is very common,” said Mareš.
“By contrast, in developed countries non-cash payment clearly dominates.”
DPD CZ, part of La Poste’s GeoPost Group, said its COD delivery service was a cheaper way for Internet merchants to sell into the Poland, Hungary, Germany and Slovakia than having to deal with bank charges for international payments.