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Best Alternatives to Google Pay in Australia

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The GoCardless content team comprises a group of subject-matter experts in multiple fields from across GoCardless. The authors and reviewers work in the sales, marketing, legal, and finance departments. All have in-depth knowledge and experience in various aspects of payment scheme technology and the operating rules applicable to each. The team holds expertise in the well-established payment schemes such as UK Direct Debit, the European SEPA scheme, and the US ACH scheme, as well as in schemes operating in Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. See full bio

Last editedApr 20232 min read

Google Pay is a mobile payment service that has become one of the most popular payment solutions for online and in-person contactless purchases on mobile devices such as electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS).

Google is not the only player in the game though, with the advancement of near-field communication (NFC) technology allowing for a multitude of secure payment options that Australian businesses can offer their customers as an alternative to Google Pay.

Best Google Pay Alternatives

Here we look at the most popular or most reliably efficient Google Pay alternatives available today. These include:

Samsung Pay
Apply Pay
PayTo with GoCardless
Skrill

Samsung Pay

Samsung Pay is a mobile payment application and digital wallet integrated into the latest Samsung smartphones and smartwatches. The application securely stores credit and debit card details to allow touch-free payments to be sent and received via NFC-supported Samsung devices.

Samsung Pay supports EFTPOS and eligible Visa, Mastercard and American Express credit and debit cards from the majority of Australia's banks. These include CBA, ANZ, Westpac and NAB. In addition, a feature on Samsung Wallet enables the user to pay fares with the Samsung Pay app when travelling on Sydney's Opal network, helping boost its popularity in Australia.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is another one of the best mobile payment apps that accepts contactless payments anywhere in Australia, including shops, restaurants and vending machines, as well as taxis and train stations. Similarly to Samsung Pay being limited to Samsung devices, Apple Pay is limited to Apple devices such as iPhones, iPads and the Apple Watch. Users can also make purchases via the Safari app on Mac computers, as well as on their mobile devices.

In Australia, customers can make purchases with eligible dual-network debit cards using Apple Pay on their Apple devices. The default payment network that processes transactions from debit accounts on Apple Pay is Visa, though this can be updated to include EFTPOS in the Wallet app. Of course, as a Google Pay alternative, android-using customers will need another option.

PayTo with GoCardless

PayTo enables instant and low cost payments that incur lower fees than cards. Australian businesses can use PayTo for both one-off and recurring transactions in over 30 countries including the USA, New Zealand and the UK, as well as many more around Europe and the rest of the world. Using PayTo through GoCardless allows users to effortlessly migrate customers to PayTo mandates and offer them both Direct Debit and PayTo payments.

Businesses are also able to use PayTo with GoCardless to easily take pre-authorised payments directly from a customer’s bank account after a single approval. You can seamlessly integrate PayTo with GoCardless into your existing checkout process, and the process to set-up one-off and recurring payments is quick and easy. You will also benefit from the real-time confirmation of payment success, which significantly reduces the risk of chargebacks.

Skrill

Skrill has been around a long time and continues to accommodate a wide range of online transactions. The app allows users to send and receive money as well as make online purchases. It can be especially beneficial to a new start-up business as it is easy to set up your account and get started. Plus, it provides plenty of order management and control strategies on the dashboard.

One small drawback for Australian businesses is that Skrill operates in USD, and thus AUD will be converted which incurs an extra (albeit small) charge. Skrill also has an affiliate program where its users can earn by referring customers to them, which can reap significant rewards for B2B businesses and could make the difference when it comes to choosing the right mobile payment solution for your business.

We can help

GoCardless is a global payments solution that helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of financial admin your team needs to deal with. Find out how GoCardless can help you with one-off or recurring payments.