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Aussies are now making far more mobile wallet payments compared to ATM cash withdrawals and it highlights how payments are drastically changing. (Source: Getty)
Mobile wallet payments have continued their meteoric rise in popularity in Australia, according to new data. These payments are contained on your smartphone or smartwatch, which stores all the necessary information from your debit or credit cards to pay for goods and services.
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) revealed people across the country made four billion payments through mobile wallets last year, worth a “staggering” $160 billion. That’s 11 times more payments than the 353 million ATM cash withdrawals, which were worth $106 billion.
ABA chief Anna Bligh said this disparity highlighted what’s happening in the Australian payments landscape.
“We are undergoing a massive transformation in how people bank in this country,” she said.
“Making payments with your phone is also now the norm for millions of customers.
“Mobile wallet usage continues to surge and is closing in on the use of physical cards or cash.”
She added that digital banking has become so popular because of its speed and safety.
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Mobile wallet payments have been around since the early 2000s, but they have become ubiquitous thanks to improving technology and the pervasiveness of smart devices.
They now come in the form of the Apple and Google Wallet, as well as Venmo, WeChat Pay and others.
If you dashed out to the supermarket or pub without your wallet, you’d still be able to pay for everything with your phone or watch.
You just tap your device onto the payment terminal as if you had your debit or credit card.
The value of mobile wallet payments in Australia has grown 23-fold since 2019.
Last year alone, there was a 28 per cent increase.
The 2023 financial year was the first in which mobile wallet payments overtook ATM withdrawals in value.
The value of ATM withdrawals has largely plateaued in recent years; however, mobile wallet payments continue to set new records.
New ABA data has revealed how quickly mobile wallet payments have overtaken ATM withdrawals. (Source: ABA)
The ABA said this huge rise in mobile wallet payments comes at a time when 99.3 per cent of customer-bank interactions now happen via digital channels, and bank branch interactions have plummeted 51 per cent since 2019.
Cash withdrawals have also fallen by an average of 9 per cent every year since 2019 and is now outpacing the decline of ATMs scattered around the country.
Australia is keeping pace with the rest of the developed world in bank branch density declining.
We have fewer than 20 commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults, which is just above the OECD and New Zealand average.
Despite this trend, the banking CEO insisted there will always be a place for physical money.
“Banks continue to support those who still prefer face-to-face services with over 3,300 physical branches and over 3,400 Bank@Post outlets available across Australia,” she added.
“Banks are also supporting access to cash for those Australians who still wish to use it.
“As we accelerate into the future, Australian banks are ensuring customers that rely on more traditional ways of banking are not left behind.”
