PayPal’s Money Pools to take the hassle out of group payments
The new feature is designed to help the 47% of Aussies making group payments every month.
Australians have a new way to deal with group payments using PayPal thanks to a recently released feature from the payments company. PayPal's Money Pools will allow you to collect and manage payments from anyone with a PayPal account. It can be used for any group payments such as group travel, gifts and events.
The recently released feature comes off the back of new research from PayPal that revealed Australians are owed $189 on average for group payments, with this amount increasing for men who are owed an average of $226. Over half of those under 34 (59%) have had to chase money in the past month.
According to PayPal's shopping expert Jessica Rix: "People are MUCH more likely to pay you if it's easy to do – and payment apps, like Money Pools make contributing as easy as a few clicks on your phone."
PayPal's Money Pools can be set up for free and works with the cards and accounts currently available in your PayPal account. Once you create a payment in your account you can send the link via WhatsApp, email or social media. You're then able to track who still owes you money and how much you're still owed.
There is a lot of consumer demand in payments, with 17% of fintech startups in Australia operating in the payments space according to the 2019 EY FinTech Census. Other fintechs and banks have also offered the ability to split group payments in various forms including Beem It, Xinja Bank and Splitwise. One unique feature of PayPal's Money Pools is it will be available to anyone who already has a PayPal account.
PayPal's research, which is based on a survey of 1,000 Australians over the age of 18, found that the top reason for not being paid back was that it was too awkward to chase for money (49%). This was followed by people promising to pay back but that never did (36%).
Rix recommends rising above the awkwardness so you can collect group payments.
"Typically, money is an awkward topic to discuss with friends, family and colleagues. If you volunteer to collect a group payment, you have to overcome the awkwardness of asking for money – after all, it's what you signed up for!"
She also recommends avoiding people that make a habit of non-payment.
"If you know that someone has a bad track record of making late payments or not paying at all, don't include them in the group. If they proactively ask to be involved, politely let them know that they're more than welcome if they pay you."
You can find out more and start a Money Pool here.
