DHL eCommerce launches Cash on Delivery in Southeast Asia

DHL eCommerce today launched its Cross Border Cash-on-Delivery (COD) service to allow consumers in Southeast Asia who do not have a bank account to pay for their international purchases in cash and only upon delivery. The move responds to the fact that “cash is still king” in the region where over 73% of the population still unbanked and thus inaccessible to e-commerce retailers since they do not have access to credit cards or internet banking services. COD is available as a value-added service of the DHL Parcel International Direct product, specifically for sellers based in China and Australia delivering to consumers in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. DHL explained that collected cash will be remitted to a local bank account at destination (Malaysia, Thailand or Vietnam) or in the billing country (China or Australia) based on the local destination currency. Remittance will be made to sellers every fortnight and tracking visibility of the status of COD is available on the DHL portal.