Pay Upon Invoice with Ratepay
Enable Pay Upon Invoice, a buy now, pay later method in Germany, allowing customers to pay after receiving goods. No PayPal account required.
Last updated: October 27, 2026
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Pay Upon Invoice is an invoice payment method in Germany. It is a local buy now, pay later payment method that allows the buyer to place an order, receive the goods, try them, verify they are in good order, and then pay the invoice within the payment due date. The due date is 30 days for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). From 20 November 2026, large enterprises (LEs) can offer this product only with a 14-day customer due date, in alignment with PayPal. See Consumer Credit Directive 2 (CCD2). There is no PayPal account needed for the buyer to use Pay Upon Invoice.
PayPal has partnered with Ratepay to provide this service. This payment method is also called as Rechnungskauf mit Ratepay in German.
Eligibility
Important: When adding Pay Upon Invoice with Ratepay/Rechnungskauf mit Ratepay as a payment option to your checkout integration, you must acknowledge and accept these terms and understand they are part of the PayPal User Agreement.
| Buyer-relevant countries | Merchant-relevant countries | Payment method type | Minimum amount | Maximum amount | Refunds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Germany (DE) | Germany (DE) | deferred payment | 5 EUR | 2500 EUR | Within 180 days |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Buyer payment due date | 30 days (SMEs) · 14 days (LEs, if enabled, from 20 November 2026) |
- This integration is available only in Germany to eligible partners and merchants.
- Partners: You must onboard your merchants upfront before they can accept payments. Pay Upon Invoice with Ratepay does not support onboarding after payments have been made, specifically Progressive Onboarding.
- From 20 November 2026, the standard buyer payment due date of 30 days is only available if your business is an SME. LEs can align with PayPal on the possibility of a 14 day due date. See Consumer Credit Directive 2 (CCD2).
Consumer Credit Directive 2 (CCD2)
The German implementation of the revised EU Consumer Credit Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/2225, "CCD2") applies from 20 November 2026. It extends consumer credit rules to deferred payment methods, such as Pay Upon Invoice, under certain conditions. Whether CCD2 applies to your Pay Upon Invoice transactions depends on your company size and the buyer payment due date.
Are you affected?
CCD2 distinguishes between SMEs and LEs, using the EU definition in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC. Your business is not an SME if any of the following applies:
- Your annual revenue exceeds 50M euros.
- Your total assets exceed 43M euros.
- Your employee count is higher than 250.
Use figures for your entire business, including offline sales channels, to assess your size. Where applicable, include the figures of linked and partner enterprises as set out in the Recommendation. To check whether your business qualifies as an SME, see the EU SME definition.
What is changing for LEs?
From 20 November 2026, LEs can continue to offer Rechnungskauf with Ratepay only if they move from a 30-day to a 14-day buyer payment due date.
To use this option, start the due date change by contacting PayPal through your account manager or servicing partner, directly from your PayPal wallet, or at PayPal Help. PayPal and Ratepay update the due date on their side, including on the Ratepay invoice and in the Ratepay payment instructions email.
You must update your own buyer-facing communication to show 14 days instead of 30 days for these transactions. Update every place where you tell the buyer how long they have to pay:
- Checkout page
- Order confirmation page
- Confirmation emails
- Help pages
- Terms
Orders placed before the cutover date keep the 30-day due date. SMEs continue to offer a 30-day payment due date.
ACTION REQUIRED: If you are an LE, tell PayPal.
You are responsible for assessing your own company size. PayPal does not hold the information needed to determine this for you.
If you are an LE, or if you are unsure whether you meet the criteria, contact your account manager, or Servicing partner at PayPal so your account can be configured correctly before 20 November 2026.
IMPORTANT: Incorrectly identifying your business as an SME when you are an LE puts you in breach of applicable law and of your agreement with PayPal, and may expose you to liability towards your customers. Under the PayPal User Agreement and the Pay Upon Invoice with Ratepay terms, you are obliged to comply with applicable law and with these developer pages, and you indemnify PayPal against losses arising from your non-compliance.
How it works
PayPal facilitates the interaction between you and Ratepay:
- PayPal sends the buyer's information to Ratepay for a risk assessment. Based on the result, Ratepay will either provide the buyer with payment instructions or issue a rejection notice.
- You receive funding immediately when the buyer successfully completes the checkout process using the Pay Upon Invoice method.
- The buyer pays Ratepay directly instead of paying you. Ratepay is responsible for following up with the buyer to ensure payment is made.
- You must inform the buyer of the payment due date and that they pay Ratepay by bank transfer. The due date is 30 days for the standard product. From 20 November 2026, LEs can offer Ratepay only with a 14-day customer due date, after aligning with PayPal. Make sure the due date you display matches the one on the Ratepay invoice.
- PayPal may contact you if a buyer opens a dispute with Ratepay. You are required to respond to these inquiries.
Buyer experience
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The buyer selects the Pay Upon Invoice payment option. At the time of payment method selection, display the benefits of deferred payments and the payment due date that applies to your business.
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The buyer provides their information to process the Pay Upon Invoice payment, including their full name, email address, delivery and billing addresses, date of birth, and phone number.
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Near the Buy Nowbutton, display the legal text provided in the integration instructions so the buyer knows the terms before any information is sent to PayPal.
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Upon a successful transaction, Ratepay emails payment instructions to the buyer. On the Order Success page, provide transaction details and notify the buyer to wait for payment instructions from Ratepay. If Ratepay declines the transaction due to buyer risk reasons, display the error message as shown in the Error handling section.
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The buyer receives an invoice with cart details and Ratepay's payment instruction details, including the payment reference number, which is returned in the API response. Always use the payment instruction details provided for each transaction to ensure accuracy. In the invoice, instruct the buyer to pay only using Ratepay. Here's a sample invoice:
Here's a sample payment instructions email from Ratepay:
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The buyer pays Ratepay by logging into their bank account and making a bank transfer. If you have a simplified integration, you are obliged to ship the order within 7 calendar days.
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If the buyer does not pay by the due date, they are subject to dunning fee charged by Ratepay. No action is required from you during the follow-up and dunning process.
Dispute handling
Buyers can open a dispute with Ratepay. You must respond within 10 business days with evidence through the PayPal Resolution Center or the Disputes API. If you don't respond within the timeframe, you will be subject to an automatic reversal of the disputed funds.
When responding to disputes, you must, depending on the dispute type:
- Provide the carrier name and shipping tracking number. These are required to respond to an "Item Not Received" dispute.
- Provide the invoice you sent to the buyer as part of the evidence.
- In certain cases, additional written explanations might be required. For example, if a buyer has returned the item and claims no refund was received.
- Retain proof of shipment and delivery for at least 180 days from the time of order placement. There might be instances when you are asked for this evidence after 90 days of order placement for Ratepay to defend a buyer-defaulted transaction legally. If you don't provide this evidence, you are subject to an automatic reversal of the disputed funds.
Carrier companies delete tracking information after 90 days, so ensure you have an image or PDF copy to respond to the dispute and avoid the reversal of funds.
Provide shipment information
As soon as a shipment is made, send tracking information to PayPal. Include the tracking ID and carrier name through either the:
- Add Tracking API. Send shipment tracking numbers for all Rechnungskauf mit Ratepay transactions. Set
notify_buyertofalsefor all Pay Upon Invoice transactions. - Transaction details page in your PayPal account.
Providing this information to PayPal can help you respond to dispute cases later, especially in older cases where you can't get tracking information from your carrier.
VAT statements
You can access monthly VAT statements through your PayPal account. These statements provide a summary of VAT collected by PayPal for any fees charged by PayPal. You may use these statements to claim your tax credits or for self-assessment of VAT charges.