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Press releases

COVID-19 spurs growth in digital money transfers

Aug 06, 2020

A third (27%) of consumers are using digital wallets to transfer money to friends and family; two fifths (43%) no longer handle cash

London, UK: COVID-19 forced many of people to make major adjustments to the way they live, work, and communicate. This inevitably has also affected the way people pay – not only for goods and services, but also how they send money to friends and family - according to specialised payments platform Paysafe’s ‘Lost in Transaction’ research.

Almost a third (30%) of consumers globally said they had given money to friends or family once or twice during the first month of lockdown. A further 20% of consumers made more than two transfers in the month, with 1% doing so at least 11 times. However, they were not using physical means as much to do so, as 43% of consumers reduced their handling of cash due to health concerns.

As a result, digital wallets such as Skrill are becoming the channel of choice for consumers who need to financially support others. With the need for international remittances likely increasing due to global restrictions on movement, 32% of those surveyed stated that they’ve turned to digital wallets as the quickest, most effective and convenient way to transfer money overseas since lockdown began. Only 15% of consumers said they would use some form of physical payment method to send money overseas during the pandemic.

Paysafe’s research demonstrated further ways in which COVID-19 has stimulated a digital shift in the way consumers shop and pay, with 48% of people saying that they will be reducing their cash usage in the future. Additionally, 38% of consumers say they will be shopping online more – even when lockdowns have been fully lifted.

Lorenzo Pellegrino, CEO of Skrill, NETELLER and Income Access at Paysafe, comments: “COVID-19 continues to be a catalyst for change across the whole payments industry. Consumers seem to be switching to digital offerings, signalling a definite shift in consumer preference for truly frictionless payment methods. Even as cash-based money transfer options reopen, preferences towards digital options, induced by the pandemic, are unlikely to subside.”

He continued: “A digital remittances solution such as Skrill Money Transfer is far more cost effective than a traditional bank transfer and has become an essential resource for people across the globe during the COVID-19 crisis. As consumer confidence and awareness of the benefits of digital international remittances continues to grow this may well represent a permanent evolution for the remittances industry.”

About the research

Paysafe’s ongoing Lost in Transaction research reports explore and benchmark payment and financial opinions of both consumers and businesses. Paysafe commissioned Sapio Research to conduct this particular Lost in Transaction study in March and April this year using an online questionnaire. The final results include responses from 8,000 consumers across the UK, US, Canada, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and Italy (over 1,000 respondents per market).

About Paysafe Group

Paysafe Group (Paysafe) is a leading specialised payments platform and the UK’s largest privately-held payments company. Its core purpose is to enable businesses and consumers to connect and transact seamlessly through industry-leading capabilities in payment processing, digital wallet, card issuing and online cash solutions.  With over 20 years of online payment experience, an annualised transactional volume of over US $98 billion, and approximately 3,000 employees located in 12+ global locations, Paysafe connects businesses and consumers across 70 payment types in over 40 currencies around the world. Delivered through an integrated platform, Paysafe solutions are geared toward mobile-initiated transactions, real-time analytics and the convergence between brick-and-mortar and online payments.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Anna Howard, Director of Communications, Europe and Asia, Paysafe

Anna.howard@paysafe.com                                                  

Phone: +442038908975