PayPal brings m-commerce to Australia

PayPal is set to open Australian mobile commerce (m-commerce) with the launch of the PayPal Mobile Checkout.

The service offers consumers the opportunity to make instant and secure payments to businesses through a mobile phone.

Using the service, customers can access sites designed for mobile devices on their mobile phone and purchase products and services using their PayPal account.

According to Galaxy Research, two out of three Australians would like to purchase products through their mobile phone, in particular movie tickets, pizza, gifts or music.

The research also shows that nearly three quarters of Australians are concerned about the security of their financial information if buying goods through their mobile phone. “With PayPal, your financial information is never shared with anyone, which is one of the reasons behind PayPal’s rapid growth in Australia,” says PayPal Australia MD Andrew Pipolo.

“We believe Mobile Checkout will be embraced by Australian PayPal account holders for the same reasons that they choose PayPal for internet shopping – choice, convenience and security.”

According to Digital Glue, an organisation that specialises in mobile marketing and transaction solutions, PayPal Mobile Checkout will lead the way for the development of mobile commerce in Australia.

“While we’ve already seen some limited payments being offered through mobile phones, these have often come with restrictions, particularly around high merchant fees and caps on the amounts that can be transacted with customers,” says Digital Glue director, Anthony McNamara.

“We see the launch of PayPal Mobile Checkout as the first real milestone in the development of mobile commerce here in Australia, with its flexible pricing and competitive fee structure.” Several businesses have already signed up for Paypal Mobile Checkout and are in various stages of rolling out the service. Among these are Warner Music, Hoyts and the World Society for the Protection of Animals.

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