The preference for contactless transactions has seen eftpos record a 400% increase in mobile transactions.
As the pandemic spread across Australia, a growing number of banks, credit unions and financial institutions extended their mobile payment options, and consumers were quick to make use of these, said eftpos CEO Stephen Benton. Mobile transactions grew more than 400% year on year in July 2020 across all mobile ecosystems. A 20% spike was also recorded in just June to July this year. A trend Mr Benton said was unlikely to slow any time soon.
“We anticipate this growth will continue to soar with more mobile launches planned later this year and we already have more than 50 banks offering eftpos as a payment option on mobile,” he said.
Consumer insights from eftpos show shoppers were opting for mobile payments at an average of 21 transactions per month, with the main sales coming from supermarkets, fast food restaurants and eat-in restaurants. The average spend per transaction is $31.
Mobile payments have also been a popular choice for cash withdrawals, as consumers remain hesitant to use communal ATMs.
The payment debit card company this week also announced it was working on a new digital payment solution for businesses, which will allow them to process regular payments via cards stored on file by merchants or payment providers.
Close to 40 banks, among them Suncorp, have signed up for the service, enabling eftpos to process their cards through card-on-file payments.
“eftpos is synonymous with low cost debit card payments in store at retailers across Australia, and we’re excited to start making headway in the digital payment space,” Mr Benton said.
“It is early days but the service will increasingly enable more small and medium businesses to have Australia’s most popular cards – multi-network debit cards – processed by eftpos, and potentially deliver significant cost savings. These potential savings are particularly important for small businesses during COVID-19 and recovery.”