PayTo payments in online retail surge 301% but poor bank UX hinders conversion, Zepto PayTo Index reveals
As retailers ramp up for the year’s biggest online shopping period, the Index reveals that PayTo adoption is accelerating at record pace as merchants look to real-time, cost-effective payments alternatives.
26 November 2025, Australia – Zepto, Australia’s leading innovator in account-to-account (A2A) payments, has today launched the latest edition of its PayTo Index, A New Frontier for Retail & eCommerce, offering insights into what is enabling and limiting PayTo adoption within the online retail sector.
“Our latest PayTo Index launches as Black Friday and Cyber Monday approach – a pivotal moment for retail globally. And it comes at a time where Australia’s retail growth remains flat, requiring retailers to go above and beyond to encourage sales through more cost-effective and seamless digital payment methods like PayTo,” Chris Jewell, President & Co-Founder, Zepto.
The new report reveals PayTo’s account-on-file method is emerging as the practical alternative to the major card schemes for online retailers, delivering lower transaction fees, improved cash flow, and a better post-purchase experience. Large marketplaces and major retailers are rapidly coming online, propelling the shift to real-time, account-to-account payments.
Top line insights from the latest PayTo Index:
eCommerce and online retail PayTo payments grew 301% in the last six months, with 305,842 payments processed and 285,340 settled, achieving a 98.9% settlement rate (excl. instances when a consumer had insufficient funds in their bank account).
The emerging card payment alternative: PayTo agreement data shows a rapid concentration towards the account-on-file use case, which now represents 89.88% of PayTo volume in the sector. We anticipate this trend will accelerate as more retail merchants adopt it as the more cost-effective alternative to the major card networks for repeat purchases and one-click checkouts.
Consumer growth: Newly created PayTo agreements in the eCommerce and online retail sector experienced 120% growth over the last 6 months, demonstrating strong consumer adoption.
Real-time settlements improve cash flow: The median settlement time for a PayTo transaction was a mere 4.94 seconds, meaningfully improving cash flow for retailers.
PayTo encourages long-term customer loyalty: Consumer return rate in the last 6 months sat at 48.66% with a median time to second purchase of just 11 days, demonstrating PayTo’s ability to drive repeat business.
Poor UX within banking apps is limiting conversion
Despite strong momentum, inconsistent user experience across banking apps is hindering PayTo agreement conversion, and in turn, cart conversion. The report reveals that poor UX within consumers’ banking apps – such as buried PayTo agreements, unclear authorisation steps, or the absence of in-app support – significantly impacts a consumer’s chance of converting.
In contrast, banks that surface real-time, in-app prompts and deep links to PayTo agreements are achieving dramatically higher conversion rates. For example, one bank’s introduction of real-time push notifications lifted agreement conversions from 40% to 70%.
Incentives drive first-time and repeat PayTo use
The Index also reveals how a leading ecommerce brand used targeted incentives to accelerate PayTo adoption. In an effort to diversify its payment mix, reduce reliance on major card schemes, lower transaction costs, and offer greater choice to customers, the brand introduced a 5% discount for purchases made using PayTo during a major sales event.
This initiative resulted in a tenfold increase in PayTo daily transaction volumes, reaching $1.2 million in a single day and half of which was generated by first-time PayTo users. Notably, 63% of these new customers returned for a subsequent purchase, underscoring how well-designed incentives and strategic checkout placement can drive not only initial adoption, but also long-term customer loyalty.
“Incentives, when combined with clear consumer education and a seamless user experience, are highly effective at driving PayTo adoption in ecommerce. But incentives alone aren’t enough,” said Jewell. “To truly unlock the full potential of PayTo, we need consistent standards across banks, merchants, and platforms. That means intuitive, real-time authorisation in banking apps, prominent positioning at checkout, and ongoing education to build trust and confidence among consumers.”
Read Zepto’s latest PayTo Index: A New Frontier for Retail & eCommerce here.
About Zepto
Zepto pioneers real-time, account-to-account merchant payment solutions for the on-demand digital economy. Its API connects merchants directly to customers’ bank accounts in simple, data-rich, and cost-effective ways. Founded in Byron Bay in 2017, Zepto now processes over $90 billion in account-to-account payments annually.
