Payments in Australia - (COVID-19) Impact Snapshot

Summary

The Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak, dubbed COVID-19, is first and foremost a human tragedy, affecting millions of people globally. The contagious Coronavirus, which broke out at the close of 2019, has led to a medical emergency across the world, with the World Health Organization officially declaring the novel Coronavirus a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

Australia has so far recorded total confirmed cases of 7,474 - much lower compared to other developed markets such as the US, the UK, France, and Germany.

A similar trend was seen in Australia, with economic growth declining in the first quarter of 2020. However, Australia is among the few countries globally that has been successful in combating the COVID-19 outbreak. With the government now easing lockdown restrictions, a rise in consumer and commercial spending is expected, which in turn will support the payments market.

This report focuses on the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak on both the economy and the cards and payments industry in Australia. Based on our proprietary datasets, the snapshotprovides a detailed comparison between pre-COVID-19 forecasts andrevised forecasts of total payment card, debit card, and credit and charge card transactions by value and volume. It also offers information on measures taken by the government to combat Coronavirus.

Scope

• The Australian travel and tourism industry, which was gradually recovering from the recent bushfire crisis, has been hit again by the coronavirus pandemic. According to March estimates by the Tourism and Transport Forum, Australia is losing nearly A$3bn ($2.11bn) every month on account of coronavirus. China - the epicenter of the outbreak - accounts for around A$12.3bn ($8.65bn) in annual tourism.
• The drop in overall consumer spending during this crisis has been partially offset by a rise in online spending, as wary consumers are staying home and using the online channel to avoid exposing themselves to disease vectors. The National Australia Bank (NAB) Online Retail Sales Index recorded a large jump in online sales in March, up more than 20% year on year.
• The rising demand for non-cash payments is expected to drive card payments at point of sale (POS) terminals and will result in a decline in ATM cash withdrawals. As per our revised forecasts, while the number of card payments will grow by 3.6% in 2020 there will be an 8.9% decline in ATM cash withdrawals.

Reasons to Buy

• Make strategic decisions using top-level revised forecast data on the Australian payment industry.
• Understand the key market trends, challenges, and opportunities in the Australian cards and payments industry.
• Receive a comprehensive insight into payments market in Australia.