Etsy expanded its Direct Checkout system to more European countries. Meanwhile, some sellers outside the US have only 2 weeks to opt out of Direct Checkout with integrated PayPal if they wish to use their own PayPal account independently.
Direct Checkout offers certain benefits that could increase conversion rates – for example, it allows shoppers to use Etsy gift certificates, or credit card even in cases where the seller doesn’t have their own merchant credit card account. Sellers can also offer additional payment methods, including checks and money orders.
But Direct Checkout has become somewhat controversial after Etsy added its own PayPal account – US sellers were forced to choose whether to use standalone PayPal; once past the deadline, sellers who accept Direct Checkout with integrated PayPal cannot turn standalone PayPal back on.
The deadline for US sellers was December 15, 2015; now, sellers with bank accounts in Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand who currently accept Direct Checkout with integrated PayPal will have until February 15, 2016, to switch back to standalone PayPal if they wish. After the deadline, these sellers will not be able to turn standalone PayPal back on. Despite the warnings, some US sellers had been caught off guard by the changes.
The new European countries where Direct Checkout is now available are the following: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. “With these added countries, Direct Checkout is now available throughout the European Union,” the marketplace announced, and went on to explain:
“Sellers who turn on Direct Checkout for their shop will automatically offer more payment options. Their buyers will be able to pay with Etsy gift cards, debit cards, and credit cards, as well as iDEAL, Sofort, and Apple Pay, where available. Once a buyer pays using Direct Checkout, the funds go into your Shop Payment Account, and then can be deposited directly in your bank account.”
You can find information about the expansion of Direct Checkout in the European Union on this Etsy announcement.
And information about the deadline for opting out of Direct Checkout with integrated PayPal can be found on this page of the Etsy website.
