Media Release
Strictly embargoed - not for publication until 12.01am Tues 28
April 2009
PayPal launches new programme to boost e-commerce
uptake in Australia
SYDNEY, 27th April 2009 PayPal Australia, a leading global online payment service, has
announced a new programme to help more organisations get online and take advantage of
the Internet to open up new revenue streams.
With e-commerce expected to continue to grow in the coming years, PayPal will launch a
Certified Developer and Partner Program to recruit developers and solution providers to help
meet the growing demand for online payments outside of the retail sector. In addition, the
company has made new tools and resources available to help organisations such as
charities, foundations, schools and universities start accepting online payments and donations
easily.
The programme will not only help to make e-commerce more accessible to sectors such as
not-for-profits, education and local government, it also fits with PayPals global business
objectives of doubling the volume of payments over the next three years and launching into
new vertical markets.
Most organisations in Australia, especially in the non-profit and education sectors, are yet to
take full advantage of e-commerce. For example, while
81% of not-for-profits in Australia
have a website, only 27% use it to sell goods and services online while as little as 22% use
the internet for fundraising¹. This is despite the fact that individuals and businesses give $11
billion per year in money, goods and services to not-for-profit organisations.²
We identified a gap in the market and designed this programme to help more organisations
tap into the internets revenue building capacity, while also helping to build new markets for
PayPal, said Glenn Lim, Global Head of PayPal Alliances and Vertical Markets, who is
currently in Australia for the launch.
1
2008 Not-for-Profit ebusiness report, ConnectingUp
2
The Giving Australia Report, October 2005
Strictly embargoed not for publication until 12.01am Tues 28
April 2009
PayPal solutions meet a wide range of payment processing needs, from enabling charities to
raise funds online, to helping local schools collect fees more efficiently and securely - our aim
is to bring the benefits of e-commerce to the wider community.
For the past three consecutive AC Nielson Consumer Reports, PayPal in Australia has
emerged as the preferred way to pay online when compared to Visa and MasterCard.
With more than five million account holders in Australia, PayPal is available on 30 of the top
50 e-commerce sites. However, non-profits (including charities, scout groups and sporting
clubs) as well as schools, universities and local government also use PayPal to accept
donations, fundraise, collect tuition fees, sell tickets and merchandise and accept bill
payments such as council rates.
North Sydney Council was the first council to integrate PayPal within its website, giving
local residents and property owners the ability to pay their rates online without sharing their
financial information. In the non-profit sector, the Koala Hospital is using PayPal to raise funds
online for its Adopt a Koala Programme, which attracts many supporters from all around the
world.
To further help Australian non-profits take advantage of the internet for fundraising and online
giving, PayPal is also partnering with global software and services provider, Blackbaud, to
launch a new, low-cost service called BlackbaudNow. Scheduled for launch in Australia later
this year, BlackbaudNow enables smaller non-profits to build a sophisticated website
featuring in-built PayPal payments processing. Using simple templates, BlackbaudNow allows
organisations to create a website presence easily so they can quickly grow their supporter
bases and accept donations and payments online using PayPal.
"More than 50% of PayPals global payment volume is already off eBay. Non-traditional e-
commerce markets, including non-profits, education and local government, are increasingly
important to the business as PayPal seeks to double the volume of global payments over the
next three years, said Lim.
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). More information about the company can be found at
Media Contacts:
Kasia Ciszak, De Wintern Group
Tel: 02 9360 2156
Email: kasia@dewintern.com