An increasing number of Australians shopping online has accelerated Australia’s shift to a cashless society by up to five years.
With many Australians staying at home for the last few months during the Covid-19 pandemic, PayPal customer sign-ups almost tripled in April compared to pre-pandemic levels.
“The social distancing required to fight Covid-19 has accelerated the move to digital payments by up to five years in the space of a couple of months,” says PayPal Australia CEO Paul Ryan.
“There are clear signs that this shift to digital services will be lasting. Even though some consumers may revert to their old shopping habits, increased use of ecommerce will be the new normal in Australia.”
PayPal Australia recorded the strongest monthly result in the company’s history with the highest number of transactions and highest total value of payments ever processed in April including a 65 per cent year-on-year increase in sign-ups among ‘silver tech’ Australians who are 50 or older. Australian small businesses also saw a 54 per cent rise in sales processed on the PayPal platform in April.
“We’ve reached a tipping point where digital payments are now an essential service, rather than just nice to have. PayPal has been there to help customers and merchants since day one and we’ll be there throughout the recovery process as well.”
However, with the increase of digital payments comes the threat of scams and cybercrime. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recently revealed that the number of scams since the pandemic began is now over 2,000, resulting in $700,000 reported in losses.
“PayPal has acted to protect online consumer safety during the pandemic including taking action against websites that fraudulently claim to offer home test kits and immunity tablets to Australians, and online businesses that have artificially inflated prices on essential goods including hand sanitizer, surgical masks, gloves, and even bottled water.
“We’ve also taken steps to support small businesses struggling through economic uncertainty by waiving certain fees, deferring repayments on select business loans, and providing information to help navigate these times,” says Ryan.
