Australian businesses embracing digital payments

Nearly half (46%) of Australian businesses plan to invest in digital payments in the next 12 months to introduce new features for customers, according to research from the University of Sydney Business School and payment platform provider, Stripe.

The research found that over one-third of businesses plan to invest in tap-to-pay features and 45% of business leaders polled either somewhat or strongly agree that their current payment operations need to be upgraded.

Among companies planning to invest in new forms of digital payment technologies, the most common reasons include making it faster or easier for consumers to purchase a company’s products and services (73%), supporting business growth or performance (39%) and supporting digital transformation initiatives (24%).

The top digital payments technologies that respondents are planning to invest in include tap to pay on mobile devices (34%), artificial intelligence or machine learning (24%), online payment links (23%) and digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay (23%).

Meanwhile, 60% of respondents agreed that digital payment technologies have already improved their company’s competitiveness and 81% of medium-sized and large businesses agree that digital payment technology is critical for their digital transformation trajectory.

Stripe MD for ANZ Karl Durrance said the findings are not surprising. “Australia is no stranger to digital payment innovations — after all, we’re a nation of entrepreneurs and innovators,” he said.

“While consumers are taking the lead on digital payments usage, this research confirms that there’s strong awareness amongst businesses of how important new payment technologies are. It’s encouraging to see them recognise mobile payments and tap to pay as the next frontier in digital payments for businesses in Australia.”

Image credit: iStock.com/Vladyslav Severyn