The Worldpay 2020 Global Payments Report from FIS has revealed that nearly two million Australians, or one-in-10, used a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) product in 2019, representing 8% of all local ecommerce payments, up from 3% in 2018.
The report also found that the number of Australian consumers using BNPL products such as Afterpay or Zip Pay has more than doubled from 2018 to 2019.
FIS Worldpay Merchant Solutions general manager for global e-commerce for APAC, Phil Pomford said, “BNPL has emerged as an attractive option for consumers seeking an alternative to traditional credit cards and have surged in popularity over the past year.”
The Worldpay’s 2020 Global Payments Report also revealed that online use of digital and mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal rose sharply in popularity, with nearly one quarter (22%) of Australians using one of these methods to pay for goods online in 2019, up by four percentage points over 2018.
At the point of sale, cash and debit/credit card are still king, accounting for 87% of payments, with only 6% of transactions made using digital and mobile wallet payment. “As advances in technology continue to influence consumer preferences across the region, Australian retailers and merchants need to ensure they are offering the right mix of payment methods to meet expectations,” Pomford said.
“Our data shows that to be competitive, retailers should be exploring new and emerging payment products such as BNPL and mobile and digital wallets to stay relevant in the marketplace.”