Amazon Business Adds Invoicing, Allowing Buyers To Delay Payment

Amazon Business is introducing a new invoicing feature that could impose cash flow pressure on sellers, according to AuctionBytes.

The blog posted excerpts from an email reportedly sent by Amazon Business to U.S. sellers on the B2B eCommerce platform, advising them of the launch of Pay by Invoice. The feature, which requires no action or onboarding on the part of the vendor, enables corporate buyers to make invoiced purchases.

The program reportedly launches on June 30 of this year.

This effectively means that buyers no longer have to make payment for goods they buy on Amazon Business at the time of purchase. Instead, they are sent an invoice, with sellers receiving a credited balance to their Selling on Amazon account as soon as a buyer’s payment is processed.

In its email, Amazon Business assured that companies will receive payment no longer than seven days past-due, while the eCommerce conglomerate also assured sellers that it will handle credit risk assessment, billing and collection.

“For all Pay by Invoice transactions, payment to you is guaranteed, even if the Amazon Business customer is late or defaults on their payment to Amazon,” the email stated, according to the blog. “For any invoiced orders that you receive on Amazon, your payment on these orders will be credited to the available balance of your Selling on Amazon account as soon as the customer payment is processed and no later than the seventh day past due date of the customer’s invoice.”

The blog also noted that Amazon Business is also introducing a way for sellers to get paid more quickly, but they will be charged a fee valuing 1.5 percent of the total invoice cost. This feature, effectively a form of invoice financing offered by Amazon, credits funds to sellers’ accounts immediately after items are shipped.

Amazon Business introduced a similar program in the U.K. last year. According to the blog, sellers there expressed concern about the cash flow pressures that the features impose. Others, however, said the feature would grow sales, as many businesses can only make purchases if they are invoiced for them.

Pay by Invoice will not be available to every business buyer on the platform, only those approved by Amazon Business, the company noted in its email. Payment can be made via wire, EFT, ACH or check; invoice payments cannot be made using cards, cash or money order.

Amazon reportedly polled some of its business customers in 2015, hinting at the possible introduction of invoicing services on AmazonSupply.com, the company’s B2B platform before the launch of Amazon Business.