The new solution offers PayPal’s competitive fee structure for micropayments, with pricing at 5 percent plus 5 cents for purchases under $12 — lower than the fees typically charged by payment processors in the digital goods Industry.

Every time a customer purchases content, publishers and merchants get paid quickly, giving them fast access to their funds. PayPal for digital goods will be available late fall this year.

At PayPal’s second annual Innovate developer conference, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg announced that Facebook will integrate PayPal’s new digital goods payment flow to make PayPal the way to make purchases on Facebook.

Several additional companies, including Autosport.com, FT.com, GigaOM, Justin.tv, Ooyala, Plimus, Tagged, Tyler Projects and Ustream announced that they are also using PayPal to monetize the growing opportunity in digital goods.

“Our readers want their news on demand, whether they’re on a laptop, a mobile phone or a tablet,” said Mary Beth Christie, head of product management at FT.com. “PayPal helps us provide the experience our customers expect, along with flexibility to experiment with payment mechanisms for subscriptions. This gives our customers the flexibility to pay for what they want, when they want.”

“The decision to purchase digital goods and content usually happens on impulse, so the act of paying needs to be as quick as that impulse,” said Sam Shrauger, PayPal’s vice president of global product strategy.

“PayPal for digital goods is an ideal solution for game developers, newspapers, bloggers, media companies, and anyone who is looking to monetize premium digital content around the globe.”

Because PayPal for digital goods is built on PayPal’s sophisticated fraud prevention engine, developers don’t have to worry about building the systems required to protect customers’ sensitive financial information. PayPal is already one of the leading payment methods for digital goods, giving merchants global reach with 90 million accounts in 190 markets around the world. The company closed out 2009 with $2 billion of total payment volume for digital goods and reached $1.3 billion in the first half of 2010.

This initiative, which is being rolled out across the Asia Pacific region, allows Australia to be the first country to make the solution readily available to merchants via TNS’ payment gateway. Prior to this integration, businesses on the TNSPay gateway would have to request a custom systems integration to use PayPal.

Over the past five years, transactions through PayPal have grown fivefold and over 30,000 Australian merchants currently offer PayPal as a safe and secure payment option.  The integration within the TNS platform will enable the merchants using the TNSPay gateway to easily offer PayPal as a payment option.

In addition to providing access to PayPal’s 3 million active accounts in Australia, the solution opens the door to merchants seeking opportunities to sell products or services to overseas markets. With more than 84 million active accounts in 190 markets and 24 currencies, PayPal helps merchants drive sales both domestically and internationally.

“The integration with PayPal through TNS, can reduce associated implementation costs for merchants by removing the need for multiple integrations, whilst maintaining consolidated control for reviewing sales, reporting, refunding and Risk Management.” said John Banfield, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Asia Pacific Payments Division, TNS. “TNS prides itself on offering efficient payment solutions and we are excited to bring this additional benefit which offers a more convenient eCommerce experience for our merchants and their customers. This new gateway feature benefits online merchants seeking to expand their offerings and reach new audiences.”

By adding PayPal, TNS offers merchants a comprehensive range of payment types across a single payment gateway solution. As TNS continues to expand its payment gateway presence globally, this agreement delivers the capability for TNS merchants anywhere to accept PayPal.

“We are delighted that TNS merchants can easily integrate PayPal, providing their customers with the benefits of PayPal’s safe and secure payment service,” said Frerk-Malte Feller, Managing Director, PayPal Australia.  “As Australians do more of their shopping online it’s important that they have peace of mind when making a purchase. PayPal keeps financial information private, giving consumers the confidence that their financial information is secure when shopping online.”

The e-commerce industry in Australia has seen rapid growth over the last year and is forecast to reach $AU33.8 billion by 2012 up from $AU24 billion last year.

In the last six months alone, large Australian retailers such as BigW have extended their presence online, providing a significant boost to the industry. As Australian businesses become increasingly engaged online, the conference will also address the future of mobile.  Globally, consumers are expected to spend $119 billion by 2015 through their mobile phones, accounting for about eight percent of all e-commerce activity, making it a valuable channel for retailers.

Mark Harvey, Event Director for Online Retailer, said: “There has been huge interest in the 2010 conference and a clear desire from Australian retailers to build, expand and improve their online offerings both online and increasing on mobile. We are dedicated to helping retailers and e-commerce professionals to grow and shape the future of e-retailing in Australia.”

PayPal Australia is in full support of the conference initiatives but warns that Australian retailers need to take better advantage of the opportunities online in order to fend off increasing competition from overseas.

Frerk-Malte Feller, Managing Director, PayPal, said: “Whilst the Australian eCommerce industry is growing, it is still significantly lagging behind the rest of the world with Australia’s domestic retail spend online half of what it is in countries such as the UK and USA.  As Australian retailers struggle to build effective online presence, overseas competitors are taking advantage of the gap in the Australian market and are currently taking around 40 per cent of Australia’s online retail spend.”

Several factors have been responsible for the slower uptake of e-tail amongst Australian consumers. While the cost of shipping, long delivery times and poor selection of items available in online stores have prevented some consumers from shopping online, concerns around the security of transactions remains the number one concern to consumers shopping online today.

Feller continued: “There is a huge opportunity for retailers to capitalise on the growing online marketplace in Australia. In the last six months alone the average consumer spent $1,223 on online shopping, an increase of $130 from the second half of 2009.”

According to Feller, the future of Australian e-commerce is incredibly exciting: “We have come a long way in the last few years.  PayPal now has over 30,000 active business accounts registered to send and receive money and I expect to see this number grow rapidly over the coming year as more Australian businesses build a presence online. We believe that the future of money is mobile as consumers seek to make payments from any connected device – be it a laptop or mobile phone today or a TV or a refrigerator tomorrow.”

Since 2005, PayPal’s merchant services division has grown ten-fold, with more than half of the top 100 Australian online retailers currently offering PayPal as a payment option.  Australian merchants currently offering PayPal include JB Hi-Fi, Big W, Roses Only, Dick Smith Electronics, Hoyts, Borders, Flight Centre, DealsDirect, Optus and Telstra.

Commenting on her new role, Elena said: “I am delighted to be joining PayPal at this exciting period of merchant acquisition and product innovation.  Aside from managing our growth, the main priority of my role will be to continue to provide PayPal’s 30,000 current Australian merchant partners, both big and small, with a secure and innovative online payments solution and to help grow their eCommerce offerings.”

“As more Australian businesses develop their online offerings to drive business growth both locally and internationally, PayPal enables merchants of all sizes to transact online in a safe and secure way.  I look forward to working with the team to bring the PayPal solution to new Australian merchants,” said Elena.

Elena brings with her a wealth of experience, having joined PayPal Australia from American Express, where she was Vice President, B2B, Asia Pacific and Japan.  In this role, which she held from 2005, Elena led the expansion of American Express into Business to Business payments in the Asia Pacific region.

Between 2000 and 2004, Elena was Head of Interactive Services at American Express, also in Asia Pacific and Japan, where she was the strategic lead on all interactive functions for the merchant business in the Japan Asia Pacific region.

Frerk-Malte Feller, Managing Director, PayPal Australia said: “We are delighted to have Elena on board.   We are committed to representing the interests of our 3 million active customer accounts in Australia, by improving and growing the number of Australian merchants using PayPal.”

“Elena will help us to continue to offer our merchants the ability to easily provide customers the benefits of a safe and secure payment service.  As more Australian businesses build their presence online, we are confident of the future growth of our merchant services division.”

Cyber crime is fast maturing and is a significant issue in Australia. In 2009 more than 20,000 Australians reported becoming victims of online fraud at a cost of nearly $70 million.  Scammers are now using sophisticated behavioural methods, in addition to more common practices like malware and spyware, to steal consumer identities and con Australian consumers. It’s this trend which is the most worrying and in need of more public education according to PayPal.

The Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner, Neil Gaughan said: “We are definitely seeing a trend towards increased socially engineered methods which scammers are using to target and trap their victims. These methods are highly intelligent and targeted and frequently prey on consumers’ emotional decision-making process.  The traditional hacker is now only half the problem.”

“Australian consumers need to start applying the same rigor to their security checks when dealing with money online, as they would offline.  Very few people would send cash through the mail without taking the correct precautions, so it’s important that Australians behave the same way online to avoid falling prey to scammers. It is a joint responsibility of the Government, Police and business to prevent these scams.”

Online scams come in many different forms. It could be a false email from a trusted payment service requesting details for a security update or false payments for online shopping purchases. Consumers should always be aware of potential scams when transacting online.

A pioneer of secure online transactions, PayPal is just one business among many that is regularly targeted by scammers. Last year in Australia there was a rise of 40 per cent in banking and online scams, which targeted a number of high profile financial institutions, highlighting the need for immediate action.

As part of its service, PayPal protects the financial information of over 3 million Australian users to enable them to shop safely and securely online.  PayPal allows anyone to pay without ever sharing financial information, meaning that PayPal is responsible for the security of users rather than those businesses who receive payment via PayPal.

Frerk-Malte Feller, Managing Director, PayPal Australia, said: “PayPal is committed to the fight against cyber crime and we want to bring this issue to light to help to protect our 3 million active users and to educate consumers who buy and sell online. PayPal’s highest priority has always been the security of its payment service and we are dedicated to protecting our users from potential scams.”

As part of National Cyber Security Awareness Week, PayPal has produced an education video and a number of top tips to help consumers stay safe online.

PayPal’s top tips to staying safe online.

1. Be suspicious – Apply the same vigilance online as you would offline
2. Ask an expert – Always check with an expert if you are suspicious. For example, if you receive a questionable PayPal email send it to spoof@paypal.com to verify the email
3. Know your tools –Take precautions and use the tools available to you. From virus and malware protection to using a safe online payments provider such as PayPal. There are numerous ways to help protect and increase your security online.

For more information on National Cyber Security Awareness Week, please visit www.staysmartonline.gov.au

With “bump” users can put two iPhones together, and funds are quickly transferred between their PayPal accounts. The Split Check feature lets users conveniently divide and quickly reimburse each other for the cost of a meal, including a tip, for up to 20 people. Collect Money allows users to request money from multiple people for a joint gift, concert tickets, and more. Users can send gifts of money on the spot for birthdays, anniversaries or any moment of impulsive generosity.

The new Send Money app comes at a time when smartphone sales have surpassed 172.4 million units in 2009*, and consumers worldwide are expected to spend $119 billion** by 2015 through their mobile phones.  PayPal mobile transactions have increased nearly six-fold, from $25 million in 2008 to $141 million in 2009.

“Today, you leave the house with three critical things: your phone, your wallet and your keys,” said Frerk-Malte Feller, managing director, PayPal Australia. “PayPal Send Money lets consumers access their wallets through their phones. Because with PayPal, the wallet lives in the cloud – the mobile phone is just one device customers can use to access it.”

With the new PayPal Send Money app, users can set reminders for recurring payments, donate money to their favourite causes, and manage their PayPal accounts — all from the iPhone. For international transactions, it also features a global currency calculator and 15 languages.  PayPal Send Money requires a PIN or password for every transaction to help prevent unauthorised use.

The application is now available to download for free at the Apple iTunes store online or the Apple App Store from any iPhone or iPod Touch.

For more information, visit www.PayPal.com/mobile.

“I am delighted to be joining the Australian team to provide strategic direction at a time when there is great demand for PayPal to help grow online shopping in Australia,” said Malte.  “My main priority is to continue to provide PayPal’s more than five million Australian customer accounts and 18,000 merchant partners with a secure and innovative online payments solution to facilitate safe, global e-commerce.”

Malte takes over the role from Dinuke Ranasinghe, acting managing director since March 2009.  Dinuke was PayPal Australia’s first employee and has now moved into a regional role as head of product for Asia-Pacific.  He will be based in Singapore.

“The fact that PayPal is Australia’s favourite way to pay online is a tribute to the success and hard work of Dinuke and my predecessors in building a strong Australian business,” said Malte.  “I look forward to building upon this with my team, especially as more Australians look to shop online safely, including via their smart phones.  More Australian businesses are also considering their online strategy to drive growth into local and international marketplaces, and this provides an exciting opportunity for us.”

Malte is taking charge of PayPal at a time when it is the most preferred online payment service with Australians when compared to other online payment systems and individual credit card brands, according to Nielsen research[1].

Malte originally joined the eBay group of companies in 1999.  Prior to joining PayPal Australia, he was managing director for eBay Germany, and a member of the European Leadership Team.

Between 2004 and 2008, Malte was managing director of PayPal Germany, Austria and Switzerland, during which time he launched PayPal in these markets.  By the end of his tenure, PayPal was considered the leading German online payments service serving more than seven million accounts at the time.

[1] Nielsen, June 2009: ‘Consumer Report 1H2009: Profiling online and mobile commerce activities in Australia’

The new partner programme supports partners that offer PayPal-enabled solutions via revenue-share opportunities, referral incentives and a certification programme. Partners can also access the latest PayPal marketing, product and educational resources via the new PayPal partner portal www.paypal.com.au/partnerprogram.

“Our partners’ success contributes to PayPal’s success so we’ve launched this programme to deliver more value to the partner community,” said Glenn Lim, PayPal’s general manager of global alliances and vertical markets.

“We want to reward partners while giving them more resources and incentives to grow their business on the back of the PayPal payments platform.” To qualify for the programme, solution providers must integrate PayPal as a key component of their e-commerce or web solution to deliver online payments functionality for their business customers such as online retailers. Partner status, and the corresponding revenue-share opportunity, is determined by the total volume of payments processed via a partner’s PayPal-enabled solution by their respective customers. The higher the volume of payment transactions processed using a partner’s PayPal-enabled solution, the greater the amount of revenue-share the partner stands to gain.

To claim financial incentives, partners must certify their PayPal-enabled solution. PayPal Certified Integration verifies that a partner’s e-commerce solution has met PayPal’s stringent integration criteria to ensure an optimal customer experience, allowing partners to differentiate their products in the marketplace.

Existing as well as new PayPal partners can enrol in the programme for free via the new partner portal at www.paypal.com.au/partnerprogram. Partners new to PayPal can enrol for basic membership while established partners that are already offering PayPal-enabled solutions can qualify for gold and platinum partner status.

“By joining the partner programme, every single partner is eligible for financial incentives and can benefit from PayPal resources and support,” said Lim.

Earlier this month, PayPal also launched an Australian developer programme to enable the local developer community to take advantage of the growing demand for online payments among businesses.

About PayPal

PayPal is the faster, safer way to pay and get paid online. The service allows members to send money without sharing financial information, with the flexibility to pay using their account balances, bank accounts, credit cards or promotional financing. With more than 73 million active accounts in 190 markets and 19 currencies around the world, PayPal enables global ecommerce. PayPal is an eBay company and is made up of three leading online payment services: the PayPal global payments platform, the Payflow Gateway, and Bill Me Later* (*not yet available in Australia). PayPal Australia Pty Ltd has a Financial Services Licence. This is intended as a referral program for partners and incentives are based on referrals made. More information about the company, including the Product Disclosure Statement, can be found at www.paypal.com.au.

IT News and eCommerce Report have reported on the launch of the Australian PayPal developer program.  It’s the first market outside of the United States to be included in the developer program.

The program includes free technical tools and resources, PayPal developer certification and  developer days to be held in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth later this month.

Spiro Rokos, PayPal’s senior manager of technical engineering, said it would help Australians tap into revenue opportunities.

He said the program was designed “to help organisations outside of the retail sector, including non-profits, education and local government, take advantage of e-commerce”.

For more information on the PayPal developer days, visit:
https://www.paypal-education.com.au/devdays/

You can also follow PayPal Australia on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/PayPalAustralia