- PayPal Australia’s CEO, Paul Ryan, spoken in a wide ranging interview on topics like coronavirus, fraud and compliance
- He claimed that moves towards digital payments were now an established part of the industry’s scene because of coronavirus
- “We have a program that stacks up against anybody’s. There is continuous learning and continuous investment”, Ryan said on the topic of security
A senior figure from the Australian branch of cross border payments firm PayPal has shared some insights into the current pandemic and other key issues affecting the business.
Paul Ryan, who serves as the chief executive officer of PayPal in Australia, used an interview to discuss a wide range of trends in the industry – such as coronavirus and security.
Ryan, who has only just recently assumed the Australian role, previously worked for the European branch of PayPal where he specialised in investigating financial crime.
So, it was perhaps no surprise that in his interview, Ryan also focused in particular on crime fighting – and on how PayPal makes moves to prevent such crimes from taking place.
He commented specifically on the issue of coronavirus fraud – a topic that many online money transfer institutions have had to grapple with since the pandemic began.
“We are very experienced at identifying fraudulent behaviour and activity and we have been proactive showing PayPal users how to recognise potential scams and inform themselves about what might be a COVID fraud or not”, he explained.
Despite his tough words, there is also a sensitivity around the issue of compliance for PayPal Australia.
One of the Australian regulators, the Australia Federal Police and the Fintel Alliance (AUSTRAC) has said that it is debating whether or not to charge the firm with a fine.
This comes after the firm flagged problems with its own international funds transfer instructions (IFTI) processes.
Making sure that protocols against money laundering are in place is "a responsibility we take very seriously and one we have absolutely invested heavily in”, Ryan emphasised.
"It makes sense to share intelligence with law enforcement, as we do”, he said.
“We have a program that stacks up against anybody’s. There is continuous learning and continuous investment.”
"It is in everyone’s interest we stop bad things happening to good people”, he added.
However, he also focused in part on the ongoing pandemic and its business plan impacts – claiming that it would soon be necessary for moves towards digital payments to become more normalised.
“Post COVID will be a very different world for e-commerce and payments”, he said.
“We are not going back to the way things were. There is a move away from cash to digital payments, whether online or in person, and there’s an obligation on merchants to ensure they have appropriate offerings for consumers”, he added.
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