Alibaba introduces seller protection program in Europe

“Trade Assurance provides 360-degree protection by guaranteeing secure payments, real-time order tracking, and targeted dispute resolution”, Alibaba explains, “which builds seller confidence and minimizes transaction risks”.

As Alibaba states in the corresponding announcement, the new seller protection program is available without additional activation costs; however, transaction and service fees may apply.

Service portfolio

Trade Assurance consists of a portfolio of services designed to create a safe and seamless sales experience. Alibaba promises, among other things, payment security by processing transactions, holding the associated amounts in escrow, and releasing them to the seller directly after delivery. Buyers and sellers can also easily track their order statuses in real-time via the platform. Additionally, Trade Assurance offers support to guarantee quality standards for products and services and to quickly resolve any issues. This package, according to Alibaba, promotes online B2B trade in Europe:

Finally, with so-called “information classification”, sellers can analyze (anonymous) recent customer activities, enabling them to make informed business decisions.

Targeted SME efforts

Trade Assurance is the latest in a series of Alibaba’s investments aimed at “simplifying global trade and making it more accessible and inclusive for SME exporters in Europe and the rest of the world”, according to the company. In this vein, the Chinese company entered into a partnership earlier this year with the government agency Business France to promote French SMEs. Last Summer, it lowered membership costs for German SMEs.

Alibaba’s targeted efforts to attract European SMEs had already yielded results in Germany and the United Kingdom, where more and more SMEs are using Alibaba.com as their procurement platform.

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