According to PayPal’s 2025 e-commerce Index, three-quarters of SMBs that have implemented BNPL report increased AOV (75 per cent) and customer conversion rates (74 per cent). On average, SMBs offering BNPL report an AOV increase of 15 per cent and conversion uplift of 11 per cent, after making BNPL available to customers.

As consumers increasingly look for payment methods that allow them to spread out costs, BNPL services have gained traction. More than a third of Australians (37 per cent) now use BNPL, an 11 per cent increase year-on-year.

As evidence of BNPL’s popularity with consumers, businesses that offer BNPL report that 25 per cent of their average online turnover now stems from BNPL transactions. Additionally, more than a third (35 per cent) say promoting BNPL options on their website leads to even higher conversion.

For many small businesses, BNPL also levels the playing field – 39 per cent say it helps them better compete with larger players. This experience rings true for one of PayPal’s customers, Angus and Grace Go Golfing, a small Australian-made golf apparel provider who reported seeing “an immediate and positive impact” on sales after introducing PayPal Pay in 4 at checkout. 

Consumers demand flexibility – and BNPL delivers

The rise in popularity of BNPL services highlights the growing consumer preference for payment flexibility, particularly amid cost-of-living pressures. 

For consumers, BNPL offers the ability to spread out the cost of purchases over a number of smaller instalments. While many BNPL solutions charge consumers late fees or interest, PayPal’s BNPL solution, Pay in 4, charges no interest and no late fees. Within a year of launch, Pay in 4 became Australia’s second-most popular BNPL offering, with 51 per cent of Australian BNPL users reporting that they’ve used PayPal Pay in 4 at checkout in the past six months.

SMBs may be missing out

Despite consumer demand, only 27 per cent of Australian SMBs currently offer a BNPL solution – potentially leaving money on the table for those businesses who don’t offer it at checkout. 

For some SMBs, this reluctance may stem from merchant fees, which can reach up to 6 per cent for certain BNPL services. However, PayPal’s Pay in 4 offers a cost-effective alternative. Available to PayPal merchants at no additional fees beyond their usual PayPal rates, Pay in 4 also requires no additional integration as it’s offered to consumers within the PayPal checkout flow. Moreover, businesses receive payment instantly when consumers use Pay in 4, with PayPal shouldering the risk of customer non-payment – giving sellers added peace of mind.

Consumers also benefit from PayPal Pay in 4’s simplicity and affordability. The service carries no late fees or interest for consumers, and users enjoy the confidence and security of paying through a trusted platform.

Staying competitive in a changing landscape

For SMBs, offering trusted and secure payment options isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s essential in an increasingly competitive digital marketplace. With BNPL growing in popularity with Australian consumers, businesses that fail to provide this option could risk losing customers eager to use BNPL as a tool to spread out the cost of larger purchases.

Ultimately, BNPL is more than a supplementary feature; it’s a strategic asset for businesses looking to grow revenue, meet consumer expectations for payment flexibility, and remain competitive. By recognising the rising demand for BNPL solutions, small businesses can build stronger customer loyalty, increase order sizes, and deliver the payment choices Australian consumers are looking for.

About the author: Peter Santiago is the director of Small and Medium Business (SMB) at PayPal Australia.

• All statistics quoted are from PayPal Australia’s e-commerce Index 2025, conducted by Fifth Quadrant Research, commissioned by PayPal.

• PayPal Pay in 4 is a continuing credit contract provided by PayPal Credit Pty Limited (ABN 66 600 629 258) and is subject to merchant and customer eligibility criteria. Full terms and details are available in the PayPal Credit Guide, TMD and PayPal Pay in 4 facility agreement on our website.

The post BNPL: How SMBs can boost sales and give customers flexible payment options appeared first on Inside Small Business.

7.8 million Australian adults undertake some form of education or training each year, according to a new ABS study on work-related training and adult learning, with the pandemic accelerating online learning, as work-related training doubled from 19 per cent in 2016-17 to 55 per cent in 2020-21.

The appetite for online learning continues to grow at pace in 2022, as organisations increase digitalisation in their businesses while also embracing hybrid workplaces.

Deloitte Access Economics forecasts that soft skill-intensive occupations will account for two-thirds of all jobs by 2030, compared to half of all jobs in 2000. And the number of jobs in soft-skill intensive occupations is expected to grow at 2.5 times the rate of jobs in other occupations.

And the Australian Financial Review reports that a revolution is underway in how education is created, delivered and consumed – with traditional degrees and diplomas being supplemented or even supplanted by short, resume-ready courses – popularly termed micro-credentials.

The power of SME education providers

What it means is that SME education and training providers are perfectly placed in today’s revolution. 5.1 million Australians last year undertook courses that led to no formal recognition, compared to 3.8 million who studied for a formal qualification such as a degree, diploma or certificate.

The significant shift in skill requirements in the workplace is driving an enormous amount of reskilling and curiosity around new skills, says Macquarie Business School’s Kristine Dery, who explains that opportunity and availability of courses at affordable prices are now enabling people to experiment more than they ever did in the past.

Unlock capital, increase enrolments

As the ABS study reveals, about 638,000 Australians (three per cent) said they wanted to enrol in a certificate, diploma or advanced diploma but could not. For 28 per cent of these people, the main reason was having too much work or not enough time, with 23 per cent facing financial barriers.

At the same time, just over seven per cent of Australians aged 15-74 years wanted to do work-related or personal interest courses in the last 12 months but could not. The main barrier to non-formal learning was having too much work or not enough time (38 per cent), followed by ‘other reasons’ (25 per cent) and financial reasons (18 per cent).

Which is why Study Now Pay Later plays such a pivotal role in tearing down the financial barriers that impede the growth of both SME education providers and their students.  Study Now Pay Later enables:

• Fast access to working capital – education providers get fully paid for courses upfront, while their student pays their course off over time
• No credit risk to education providers from customer payment defaults– we take the risk.
• Education providers can focus on delivering quality education – we do the heavy lifting in managing and collecting regular student repayments for up to 36 months.

Why choose niche BNPL capability?

Specialisation means having a purpose-built B2B solution that accommodates the payment nuances of ONE industry.

It means deeper understanding and higher success rates.

And it means agility to adjust the platform and processes as the industry evolves.

The insights to create a full suite of solutions for a variety of financial scenarios – alternate options, portfolio management, cash advances.

And the empathy to have a human touch – more than just a finance platform, approvals and collections involve real conversations using a tailored process that is sensitive to the needs of students and the reputation of the education provider.

The post Study Now Pay Later a boon for online learning providers appeared first on Inside Small Business.

One of the most important decisions to make about your loan is whether it is secured or unsecured. Here we break down the difference between the two types of business loans to help you figure out which one is best for you.

So, what’s the difference between secured and unsecured loans?

Secured and unsecured loans refer to the type of security a lender requires when a business owner takes out a loan. This means that if there’s a risk that a business will default on its loan repayments, the lender wants reassurance that they’ll get back the money they loaned to the business.

As its name suggests, a secured loan requires a form of security. This is often in the form of physical assets. For example, if an individual takes out a secured loan for a car, the car is used as collateral if the borrower defaults on their payments; this ensures that the lender does not simply lose the money they loaned. The security covers the outstanding balance or interest on the loan.

An unsecured loan, however, doesn’t require physical security. Instead, applications for an unsecured loan are assessed based on the financial health of your business and your credit score.

What are secured loans?

Secured loans are typically easier for a business to obtain, though the approval process is often much longer than that of an unsecured loan. It’s also likely that a secured loan has lower interest rates; this is because the borrower is providing security for the lender, so the lender isn’t concerned about losing their money if the borrower cannot make their repayments.

What are unsecured loans?

Instead of using physical assets to secure the loan, unsecured loans use the financial strength of your business as security against your loan. Most unsecured loans are quite small, usually sitting around $100k or less. Although they tend to have higher interest rates than secured loans do, the approvals process is much faster, giving your business the money it needs, sooner.

How do you know which type of loan is best for your business?

You know your business better than anyone, so it’s important to consider your business goals before you weigh up both loan options to decide which is best. If you need access to funds as soon as possible to grow your business rapidly, an unsecured loan may be best because of its quicker approval time. On the other hand, if you are after a larger sum of money for your business, or lower interest rates are important to you, it is probably best to opt for a secured loan.

How can Zip Business help?

Zip Business is known for offering an interest free ‘buy now, pay later’ service – but did you know that we also offer buy now pay later designed for business? To get started on your application or to find out more about what we can do for your business, get in contact with us today.

The post What is the difference between secured and unsecured business loans? appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Risk equals high interest rates

The problem is, it’s smaller businesses that often struggle to access traditional finance at competitive interest rates, so paying off debt quickly in large monthly repayments becomes a priority. Then if your finances change, due to a rent increase, for instance, you could find yourself back in the same cashflow trap you were in before.

The alternative – making minimum monthly repayments, which incur the maximum interest – is perhaps worse. Some entrepreneurs are so paralysed by the risk of compounding debt that they end up putting their expansion plans on hold rather than seeking finance.

SMEs need interest free

The challenges small businesses face in the traditional lending landscape are widely known, and while some progress has been made – with the Australian Government’s SME Recovery Loan Scheme and the New Zealand Government’s Small Business Cash Flow Loan Scheme – it doesn’t address what the sector really needs: access to flexible, interest-free finance options.

That’s the idea behind hummpro, a buy now, pay later (BNPL) solution that enables small businesses to access up to $30,000 in funds, so you can buy what you need to grow your business today without having to hesitate or worry about how it will impact your cashflow.

The biggest difference between hummpro and traditional finance options, such as a bank loan or credit card, is the range of repayment options that not only give you greater control over your finances, but also don’t accrue interest, so you’ll never get caught out by compounding debt.

How hummpro works

When you use hummpro, all your transactions each month are grouped into a single bucket – a monthly balance – which makes it easy to manage your cashflow. You get at least one full month before your balance is due, but you could actually get up to 60 days interest free if you make your purchases at the start of the month.

If you have the cash to ‘pay’ your monthly balance when it’s due, hummpro will simply deduct the amount owed from your connected card or bank account. But if you need more time, because a supplier has been slow to pay an invoice or you’ve had a seasonal dip in sales, you can ‘pause’ your balance to get another 30 days interest free. You can pause each monthly balance up to two times. And each time, you’ll only need to pay a fee of 3.5 per cent of the monthly balance.

If you need more time, or more manageable payments, you can switch your balance to a 6, 9 or 12-month repayment ‘plan’. The balance is split into equal monthly instalments, plus a monthly fee of 1.5 per cent* of your starting balance.

No matter what you do with your balance in any given month – pay, pause or plan – you get the same fresh terms at the start of the next month: access to up to 60 days of interest-free finance and flexible repayment terms.

It’s a new solution that stops businesses being forced to choose between low interest rates and positive cashflow – instead they can enjoy the best of both worlds and rather than accruing paralysing interest, pay only up-front fees when they choose to activate some repayment flex.

Visit hummpro.com/blog for content to keep small business fit.

*Disclaimer:

The 1.5 per cent fee is fixed for the duration of the Plan and is based on the starting Plan balance. The fee is charged each month when the Plan instalment is due and is only payable if the Plan remains open. If the Plan is paid off early, the remaining Plan fees will not be charged. Six months – maximum total Plan fee is 9 per cent of the Plan balance. Nine months – maximum total Plan fee is 13.5 per cent of the Plan balance. 12 months – maximum total Plan fee is 18 per cent of the Plan balance.

The post How to grow your business with zero interest finance appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Blunder 1 – Being reactive not proactive about finances

Many small-business owners look at their bank balance often but rarely look further ahead at their financial situation. By future forecasting, you can plan for your financial needs whether that means managing finances to carry the business through a tough month or identifying financial growth opportunities to inject back into the business. In either situation, consider the following tactics: 

• Start taking payments for some invoices through card, or BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later like Zip and Afterpay). This action could lead to a significant increase in your cashflow.
• Secure access to credit that does not have ongoing costs. Finance businesses are always more open to approving those who are not in distress, and, therefore, you can generally secure a better rate.

Blunder 2 – Throwing money at the “problem”

When small-business owners get into financial difficulties, their first solution is to throw money at it with a quick loan. Historically, the lending industry in Australia has encouraged this, promoting fast and easy access to debt. Short term, may help, however it is almost always the most expensive solution and delays the problem.

Solve problems in a more intelligent way. For example, consider a business that takes payment for a $10,000 job on the same day the work is completed, versus waiting for a 30-day invoice payment period. The former injects instant cash into your business versus needing to fill a 30-day cashflow gap with interest bearing debt.

Blunder 3 – Putting their head in the sand and ignoring financial management

In a busy small business environment, it can be easy to turn a blind eye on your finances and its management when you are not an expert. But this can lead to unidentified issues that will put you on the back foot. Make it less daunting by starting small and acknowledge what money is coming in and going out to begin with. From here, work your way up to understanding the various funnels of your business finances to gain more certainty and control.

Blunder 4 – Not understanding the difference between cashflow and profit

Many small business owners tell us they are profitable yet cannot understand why there is never any money in the bank. When owners understand cashflow is simply based on timings of payments in and out, they can work to decrease those timing gaps. Whilst bringing in cash by way of earlier customer payments may not impact overall profit, it can have a huge impact on cashflow.

Blunder 5 – Not being aware of tools they can leverage

A small business could be performing really well but may be unaware of the right tools to help catapult their business. In some instances, traditional providers won’t even provide these services for SMEs. Good providers re-shape the relationship small businesses have with finance through education and insights and provide simple access to the products they could be using.

The post The five common financial blunders SMEs make and how to mitigate them appeared first on Inside Small Business.