BERLIN–Apple has removed support for bank transfer payments, also known as prepayment, from its online store in Germany.
According to 9to5Mac.com, it’s unclear if any other countries are currently affected in the online store change, but the change today leaves German buyers with the choice of using a credit card, PayPal, or financing as payment options, 9to5Mac.com reported.
“The prepayment option previously offered to German Apple online store customers allowed buyers to complete a bank wire transfer instead of using a credit card or PayPal to purchase their products,” 9to5Mac.com said in its report. “Customers would send payment to Apple’s payment processing company, and once the money had been received and cleared, Apple would then move onto to building and shipping out the order.”
9to5Mac.com said U.S. shoppers on Apple’s site typically don’t see those options, which are more common outside the U.S.
“(In) Germany, customers were provided with Apple’s payment processor’s banking information to help complete the transaction. Although the German Bank Transfer help page is still available, it’s not known if Apple will eventually move away from this option altogether,” 9to4Mac.com. “Customers who used to utilize the bank transfer could potentially see a delay in orders as the transfer would take five business days for payment processing.”
9to5Mac.com noted that German banks still do not offer Apple Pay.