Selling in Germany (DACH) on Shopify: Why Whitelabel Invoice Payment Wins Trust (2026)

You’ve translated your Shopify store into German, priced in euros, and sorted out shipping and returns — yet your conversion rates in Germany still fall short of your expectations? For international direct-to-consumer brands, the missing piece is quite often not traffic or product; it’s trust, and it surfaces at the worst possible moment: the checkout. 

When German shoppers meet a brand they don’t yet recognise, a familiar set of doubts appears. Is this shop legitimate? Will my order actually arrive? If I return something, how long until I get my money back — and will I get it back at all? The payment methods you offer either amplify those doubts or remove them. 

The real barrier in Germany is trust, not traffic

With cards, PayPal, and wallets, the customer pays first and carries all the risk. They hand over sensitive details and their money to a brand they’ve only just discovered, then hope the goods — and any refund — follow. For an established name, that’s fine. For a newcomer, it’s friction at the highest-stakes step. 

The numbers underline it. Around 70% of online carts are abandoned worldwide. (Baymard Institute: “Global online shopping cart abandonment rate 2006–2026” (2026)). And in Germany, the single most-cited reason shoppers abandon a purchase is a missing preferred payment method, named by 43% of shoppers (C Space (commissioned by Visa): “Survey of German Online Shoppers” (2023)). Offer the method German shoppers trust most, and you remove their biggest reason to hesitate with a brand they’ve only just met. 

Why invoice payment changes the equation

Invoice payment flips the risk. The customer receives the goods first, checks them, and only then pays — usually within 14 to 30 days. Nothing is prepaid, no card details are entered, and no account is required, so the trust questions never arise. 

This is no niche preference. According to the renowned retail research institute EHI’s “Online-Payment 2026” study, invoice payment accounts for 26% of German e-commerce revenue — the second most-used method overall, and by far the most popular one that asks nothing from the customer up front. Approval rates are high: at Unzer, invoice-payment acceptance typically sits around 90%, based on internal data analysis. And it reaches customers that wallets miss — not every German shopper has, or wants, a Klarna or PayPal account. Invoice payment through Unzer works for virtually any adult customer, with no prior registration; a date of birth is enough for the real-time credit check. 

Note on the DACH market: Invoice payment is an established payment method throughout the DACH region. It has long been one of the preferred payment methods in German e-commerce (D). While it is also widely used in Austria (A) and Switzerland (CH), card payments and local payment preferences — such as TWINT in Switzerland — play a more prominent role there. 

How the payment methods compare on trust

No risk for merchants: how secured invoice payment works

Many international merchants hesitate to offer invoice payment because they picture the downside: chasing unpaid invoices and absorbing the losses. With Unzer’s secured invoice payment, that risk moves off your books entirely. 

• Payment guarantee: you receive the full amount once the goods are shipped — regardless of when, or whether, the customer pays. 
• Default risk covered: a real-time credit check runs in the background at checkout, and Unzer assumes the credit and default risk. That is what “secured invoice payment” means. 
• Collections included: reminders, dunning, and collection are all managed by Unzer. 
• Predictable cash flow: you’re paid on shipment, not on the customer’s payment date, which makes revenue easier to plan. 

In short, you get the conversion upside of letting customers pay after delivery, without the risk that stops many shops from offering invoice payment on their own. 

For high-value carts, add instalments

For higher-value carts, instalment payments lower the barrier further by splitting the total into smaller monthly amounts. It’s still a small share of the German market — around 4.7% — but it has more than doubled since 2022 (EHI Retail Institute: “Online-Payment 2026” (2026)), and it lifts average order value on exactly the purchases where a single upfront payment gives shoppers pause. Unzer offers instalments as a separate, whitelabel Shopify app alongside invoice payment. 

Why “just switching on Klarna or PayPal” isn’t the whole answer

Klarna and PayPal do offer pay-later options, and both activate quickly on Shopify. But they appear in the checkout as visible third-party brands, usually with a login or account step — and, as the abandonment data shows, forced sign-ins cost conversions. More importantly for a brand still building recognition, routing shoppers into another company’s branded flow hands over the very relationship you’re trying to build. 

A whitelabel approach keeps everything in your own design. With Unzer, the payment selection, the invoice, and any payment reminders all appear in your shop’s branding, with no third-party logo. The shopper experiences one brand throughout — yours. 

You don’t have to switch your PSP

Adding invoice payment doesn’t mean replacing Shopify Payments or re-platforming. Unzer provides its own official Shopify apps — one for invoice payment, one for instalments — built and supported by Unzer itself. Both apps are available to any merchant based in Europe, so you don't need a separate German entity to offer invoice payment and instalments to DACH shoppers. They install as a no-code integration in under an hour and run inside the native Shopify checkout, with no redirect to an external page. They work alongside your existing setup: Shopify Payments, cards, and wallets stay exactly as they are, and invoice payment is simply added as the option German shoppers trust most. Unzer also offers a free Checkout Booster app that surfaces these pay-later options on your product and cart pages, so shoppers see them before they reach checkout — lifting average order value and conversion. Unzer Buy now, pay later (BNPL) options are available for all consumers across the DACH region and the Netherlands. 

The takeaway

For international brands entering Germany, the checkout is where trust is won or lost. Prepayment methods ask unfamiliar shoppers to shoulder all the risk; invoice payment removes it — the customer pays only after the goods arrive, and you’re paid either way. Offered as a whitelabel option that complements your current Shopify setup, it turns your biggest conversion barrier into your strongest trust signal. 

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a German entity to offer invoice payment? 

No separate German entity is required. Unzer works with merchants based anywhere in Europe. A European-based brand can use Unzer's Shopify apps for both invoice payment and instalments to sell into Germany and the wider DACH region. 

Do customers need an account to pay by invoice on Shopify? 

No. With Unzer’s invoice-payment app, a date of birth is enough for the real-time credit check — no registration or login, unlike account-based options such as Klarna or PayPal. 

How is Unzer invoice payment different from Klarna or PayPal pay-later? 

All three let customers pay later, but Klarna and PayPal appear under their own brand with a login or account step. Unzer’s invoice payment is whitelabel — it runs entirely in your shop’s design, with no third-party logo — and needs no customer account. 

Who carries the risk if a customer doesn’t pay? 

Unzer does. With secured invoice payment you get a payment guarantee: Unzer runs the credit check, assumes the default risk, handles receivables management, and pays you regardless of the customer’s payment behaviour. 

What happens with a refund if a customer paid by invoice? 

You issue the refund as usual in Shopify. The amount flows back via Unzer, which passes it to the customer; with Unzer this reconciliation runs automatically through the sync between Shopify and the Unzer dashboard. It can take marginally longer than a direct card refund. 

Can I offer invoice payment for high-value carts and B2B customers? 

Yes. For higher-value baskets, instalments split the amount into monthly payments and lift average order value; invoice payment is also available for B2B, where Unzer likewise covers the default risk. 

Does adding Unzer mean leaving Shopify Payments? 

No. Unzer’s apps work complementary to Shopify Payments — an addition to your existing setup, not a replacement. There’s no need to switch PSP.