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CBA reports surge in digital wallet transactions
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Company: Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Latest analysis from the bank, which draws on Visa and Mastercard data, has found digital wallet users in Australia spent $1 billion in a record number of transactions in March 2020, a 17% increase from the same month last year.
Overall there were 36 million digital wallet transactions made in March - comprising spending from CBA Tap & Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay, and Garmin Pay devices - up from 33 million in February and higher than the previous monthly record of 34 million in December 2019.
Kate Crous, executive general manager of everyday banking, CBA, says: “The growth in the number of contactless purchases has been increasing since the introduction of Apple Pay last year, however it’s now evident that even more people regard it as a safe and secure way to pay in this environment.”
The data comes in the wake of a ruling by AusPayNet to raise contactless card limits from $100 to $200 to reduce the need for physical contact with the payment terminal.
Says Crous: “In the current environment, paying without cash is an important way to protect yourself and others against the spread of coronavirus. The increased contactless card limit is a fantastic step, however where possible we’re encouraging our customers to use digital wallets as they have the added safety of not needing to enter a PIN on the PIN Pad no matter how much they spend, as it instead leverages touch ID or Face ID."