By Aimee Chanthadavong

PayPal will be expanding its Seller Protection policy to Asia Pacific, including Australia, on 11 October 2013.

PayPal’s Seller Protection, which is already available to eBay merchants and a number of markets overseas, has been designed to protect eligible merchants from fraudulent transactions for tangible items and cases where items are not received by buyers.

Speaking to RetailBiz, PayPal Australia managing director Jeff Clementz, said the reason for the expansion is to give its retail customers like JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys the same level of protection.

“Other merchants have been delighted so far by the policy as it lowers operation costs because they often find themselves spending lots of money trying to protect themselves and their customers from fraud,“ he said.

"At the same time they are also able to increase their profit margins because they are can provide a better checkout experience for their customers, resulting in higher revenue.

"While it’s more costly for PayPal to operate, we invest heavily in risk management. In fact 25 per cent of our company is in risk management who are constantly reveiwing  our fraud model and even transactions that may look suspicious. It’s about value-adding to our existing network."

The policy has come at time where Australian retail exports have become increasingly attractive to global markets. Recent PayPal research stated the demand for Australian goods will grow from $5 billion in 2013 to $16.1 billion by 2018.

Clementz said by reducing the risk against fraud, it will give retailers additional confidence to trade overseas and domestically.

“Merchants are often fazed to protect themselves against fraud because of the cost while they are trying to manage shipments," he said.

"So often they find themselves sacrificing the flow of checking out, which can hurt them. So by having a seamless payment option like PayPal they don’t have to invest heavily on resources in their back office.

"It’s even more important because there are now million of consumers buying from Australian retailers. I think safey and security is important because people will want to know they’re being protected. Bringing the Seller Protection policy just means PayPal will stand behind  our merchants as trust is integral in selling across borders."