Most Australians are now using digital payment, according to new research from Roy Morgan.
This research unveils that more than 14.5 million Australians aged 14 and older (71.7 per cent) use digital payment in a 12-month period.
“The way in which we make payments is evolving quickly,” Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine said. “Tech companies, financial institutions and start-ups are competing to create ever-increasingly frictionless payment experiences for consumers.
“These digital payments not only help the consumer with a quicker and more convenient way to pay, but also provide businesses with rich data on what the consumers are purchasing, how they are purchasing it, and where.”
While there is a huge number of digital payment methods in the market, Roy Morgan has identified four key categories: bill payment services, online payment platforms, contactless/cardless mobile payments, and buy-now-pay-later payments.
In the 12 months to March 2018, BPay was still by far the most used digital payment method in Australia, with 53 per cent of Australians using it in the past 12 months, followed closely by PayPal at 41 per cent.
In recent times, the popularity of buy-now-pay-later payments has grown with six per cent of Australians using at least one of those payment types – Afterpay, ZipPay or ZipMoney – in the past 12 months.
The contactless/cardless mobile payments involve the payer using the near field communication (NFC) technology in their phone to tap a payment terminal. This category covers technologies such as banks’ own mobile payments.
In the past 12 months, 7.3 per cent of Australians used a banks’ own mobile payment method, with CommBank Tap & Pay the most used by Australians (4.3 per cent). Other contactless/cardless mobile payments include Apple Pay, Android Pay, Google Wallet and Samsung Pay, with 6.1 per cent of Australians using any of these mobile payment methods in the past 12 months.
According to Roy Morgan, bill payment services are most popular among older age groups (35-64 years). Women are most likely to use this service.