Global Survey Supports Value of Empowering People Economy

United States Looks to Foster Small Business Growth with Money Flowing More Freely

SAN JOSE, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — July 7, 2014 — From its first day, PayPal has helped revolutionize the way people across the globe think about and use money. As part of its recent global rebrand, PayPal today announced findings from a 15-country survey aimed to understand both universal human attitudes and country-specific variances in perspectives about time, technology, money and other central elements of the People Economy.

The People Economy is how PayPal describes its belief that people’s lives can and should be more connected, more human, and filled with deeper meaning. People who make, share and collaborate, and those who buy, sell, and trade, all want the same thing: more of a say and less in the way. PayPal’s continued technological innovation, focus on improved processes, and mission to give people direct control over their money are integral to the People Economy. PeopleEconomy.com serves as a place to discover and be inspired by the individual voices behind this growing notion.

“At PayPal, we always strive to lead as a revolutionary brand. With our rapidly changing environment, we must create based on the needs and changes in the marketplace,” said Christina Smedley, vice president, Global Brand and Communications, PayPal. “With PayPal’s truly global marketplace, better understanding the key values we’re supporting around the world – both at universal and at country-specific levels – is essential for delivering products that further empower the people we serve. This survey furthers us in that mission.”

70 Percent of the World Thinks Technology Should Make Payments Simpler, Connected and Faster, with More Choices and Opportunities

Whether it’s the pain of the waiting on shopkeepers to take payment, annoyance at having to find and carry cash, frustration with lugging around a wallet, balking at reliance on kiosks or other things standing between people and what they want, the world is ready for what PayPal delivers: the faster, safer way to pay and get paid.

For example, in Singapore (73 percent), China (72 percent) and Australia (51 percent), the majority of people want technology to help them avoid long lines. European shoppers are more fed up with having to wait for someone to take payment or having to get cash to complete a purchase, with Spain (55 percent), Italy and Russia (53 percent), France and Turkey (41 percent) and the UK (39 percent) reporting the highest levels of dissatisfaction. The problems persist online as well; if a site requires a customer to sign up or register before making a purchase, they’re apt to lose more than half of prospective sales in Italy (52 percent), Canada (51 percent) and Spain (50 percent).

The Majority of People Waste up to Four Hours a Day on Mundane Tasks; How it’d Be Spent Varies Dramatically by Country

Whether waiting in line/queuing to pay for things, commuting to and from work or sitting in traffic, enduring pointless meetings or calls, or simply running through the day’s errands, more than half of the world (56 percent) wastes hours each day that they’d like help recapturing. Only Germany has a significant percentage (19 percent) of its population that professes being highly efficient and wasting no time. By contrast, only two percent of Americans report feeling efficient.

For the rest of the world, getting to and from work and dealing with daily routines seem to be the biggest time-sucks, with every country averaging more than an hour on each. Italians, however, have the worst commutes, wasting more than two hours each day (123 minutes on average) followed closely by Israelis (117 minutes). Russians waste nearly three hours on errands each day (166 minutes), followed by Brazilians (125 minutes), Americans (118 minutes), the Chinese (115 minutes), and the Turks (112 minutes). In the US, being stuck in traffic and pointless meetings, calls and emails come in as a close, combined second for what we waste time on (22 percent each).

While the fact that we waste time on the days’ necessities may not be surprising, how each country would spend that time if given the chance varies from country-to-country. Of those wishing to spend more of that wasted time on worthwhile endeavors, Americans lead the world in ranking family time (54 percent) as the way they wish to spend more time, while, the Japanese want to treat themselves with solitude (63 percent), the Chinese seek more physical activity (48 percent) and Spaniards want more time for leisure activities (35 percent).

“While we’re not yet in the business of solving gridlock, we know that whenever we can shave time from the payments process for our 148 million active account holders, we’re giving them back one of life’s most precious resources,” continued Smedley. “Whether spending that time with family and friends, relaxing, exercising or getting some quiet solo time, the value is immeasurable.”

Fast-Growing Economies Embrace Mobile

While keys lead the list of things people won’t leave the house without, the smartphone is just as important – beating cash and credit cards on a global scale. This statistic confirms for businesses that figuring out mobile payments is key to future sales. In fact, in some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, the majority of the population has already embraced mobile payments. In China, 90 percent of respondents pay from their phone, followed by Russia (85 percent), Brazil (nearly 70 percent) and Turkey (60 percent). Even in China, however, where mobile is mainstream, 35 percent of respondents wish paying by phone were easier. The world is ripe for continued innovation.