Aussies are leaving wallets at home and relying on digital payments

Australians are changing their wallet habits. Notably, 40% of Aussues leave their wallets at home and use mobile phones and smartwatches as their primary form of payment.

The Australia Banking Association (ABA) found that we are entering a digital banking revolution with young people leading the charge, with two-thirds of those aged between 18-24 relying solely on their phones and wearables technology to make purchases.

“One in two Australian smartphone users say they have used their mobile phone to make a purchase in-store, in-app or on a website, an increase from 18% in 2019 to 49% in 2022,” says the report.

As Aussies become more inclined to use mobile banking, branch usage has rapidly declined. In fact, the report found that 70% of Australians haven’t visited a physical bank branch in the past month. 

Only 3% of Aussies reported visiting a branch more than three times in the past month. 

And that’s because more people are using their mobile banking apps and digital wallets to send, receive and make payments for their expenses.

With BPAY, PayID and bank transfers becoming more common, visiting a bank to pay your bills or deposit cheques has become a thing of the past. 

“Twenty per cent of all payments now conducted using PayID and 15 million PayID registrations as at 1 May 2023, an increase from six million in 2021,” says ABA.

If you want to learn more about mobile banking, check Mozo’s banking guides and tips. Alternatively, join the digital bank movement and compare bank accounts below.