Published on the 26/01/2016 | Written by Beverley Head
Australians are ready, willing and able to swap ready cash for a digital alternative – and retailers had better prepare their infrastructure for the switch…
MasterCard has released the results of research commissioned from Galaxy, which found that although some retailers in Denmark could stop accepting cash payments as soon as this year, there is clear appetite for something similar here.
Two thirds of the 1,000-plus Australians polled said they had reduced the amount of cash they carry, with 53 percent carrying less than $50.
Enthusiasm for cashless payment is rampant right across Asia Pacific according to IDC Australia which has found that 82 percent of the region’s population has used some form of cashless payment be that online payment or digital wallets using an app and smartphone to complete a payment.
In its 2016 Technology, Media and Telecommunications predictions Deloitte also noted that the use of touch based payment services on mobile technology were expected to soar by 150 percent this year. Demand for tap and go payments has been seeded by the card giants Visa and MasterCard which have rolled out contactless cards and payment terminals.
The banks have launched a range of smartphone based digital wallets – most recently, NAB which this week became the first Australian bank to leverage the Visa tokenisation service. With ApplePay also available in Australia, at least for American Express users, the rise of digital payments continues.
In tandem, there is a rapid increase in interest in the blockchain technologies which underpin digital currencies such as Bitcoin. Australia’s major banks are exploring blockchain and experimenting with digital payment systems such as Ripple.
Last week, the Australian Stock Exchange also announced that it had signed an agreement with US firm Digital Asset Holdings to develop a blockchain-based platform that could be used for post share trade settlements. The ASX has paid $A14.9 million for a 5 percent stake in the company and to fund the development programme.
With heavyweights such as the ASX and major banks now investing in and experimenting with digital currencies, and a clear consumer appetite to pay for goods and services digitally, retailers need to ensure that they stay abreast of emerging trends in order to ensure that the platforms they develop are future-proofed and able to cope with the rapid shifts already underway.
