Hesitation to hit “publish” is one of the biggest roadblocks for business owners trying to grow their brand online. They know they need to show up, but they overthink every post, agonising over every word, questioning their authority, and fearing judgment.

Before they know it, they’ve wasted hours stuck in a cycle of indecision while others, often with far less experience, show up consistently and position themselves as the go-to expert.

This isn’t just frustrating; it’s a missed opportunity to attract dream clients and grow your business.

If you find yourself stuck in post paralysis, here’s how to move past it and start showing up with confidence:

1. Get Out of Your Way

Imposter syndrome whispers, Who do you think you are?—a thought that stops so many business owners from putting themselves out there.

A mindset shift that works? Detach from the post. Imagine you’re a social media manager responsible for someone else’s brand. Would you overthink it the same way? Probably not—you’d create, post, and move on.

The truth is, if you wouldn’t judge someone else for posting the same thing, why assume others will judge you?

Instead of overthinking, treat your content like an experiment. What resonates? What falls flat? The only way to know is to post and pay attention to the response. Turn it into a game.

2. See Social Media as a Flowing Stream

Many people hesitate to post because they fear their content will be scrutinised forever. However, social media doesn’t work that way.

Think of your feed as a river—your post floats by, seen by the people online at that moment, and then it moves along. It’s not a Post-it note stuck to your forehead for all eternity.

Consistency beats perfection every time. The sooner you let go of the pressure to make every post flawless, the easier it becomes to show up regularly.

3. Focus on Impact Over Perfection

What’s worse – posting something that’s not “perfect” or keeping your expertise hidden from people who need it? Your ideal clients are out there seeking exactly what you offer. Every day you stay invisible is a day they can’t find you.

Or on the flip side:
✅ The right person sees your post, and it resonates with them.
✅ They start following, engaging, and building trust with you.
✅ They become a client.

When you compare the two, one of those outcomes is far more important than the other.

4. Call Out Your Ideal Clients in Your Posts

The easiest way to engage the right people? Make it clear who your content is for.

Instead of:
“Here’s why social media matters for business owners…”

Try:
“Coaches & consultants—struggling to turn content into clients? Here’s why your messaging isn’t landing.”

This does two things:
🔹 It grabs the attention of the right audience.
🔹 It filters out the people who aren’t a fit, so you’re not answering the wrong inquiries.

“Done is better than perfect.” Because the truth is, an imperfect post that goes live will always outperform the “perfect” one sitting in your drafts.

Your expertise is too valuable to keep hidden. The world needs what you have to share, and there are premium clients out there ready to work with you.

But they can’t find you if you’re stuck in content paralysis.

So next time you’re hesitating to hit ‘post’, remember: Every expert you admire started by simply sharing what they know. Your next dream client could be just one post away.

Because at the end of the day, how can you become a thought leader if nobody knows your thoughts?

Contributed by Kady O’Connell, Founder of Kady Creative and Booked Out Brand

monday.com, the multi-product platform that runs all core aspects of work, has announced its monday.com AI Vision, representing its key focus areas for 2025. Building on its robust platform, monday.com’s strategy will focus on three pillars—AI Blocks, Product Power-ups, and the Digital Workforce—to accelerate its vision to democratise the power of software.

monday.com’s approach to AI aims to address the unique challenges businesses and employees encounter. The company’s AI offering will give SMBs and mid-market companies a competitive advantage to scale and shift business dynamics without increasing resources and enable enterprise and Fortune 500 companies to accelerate processes often slowed by scale. Additionally, monday.com’s approach will enable anyone –– no matter their tech background –– to become a builder of AI, as the technology will be effortlessly integrated into their workflows. 

“People adopt products, not technology, and that’s where monday.com comes in. By embedding intelligence into the products our customers already know, use, and love, AI will accelerate our mission to democratise the power of software,” said Daniel Lereya, Chief Product and Technology Officer at monday.com. “monday.com’s AI Vision is not just about adding new features; it’s about reimagining how work gets done, unlocking infinite possibilities, and empowering businesses to scale like never before. With a majority of our customers in non-tech industries, they’re looking to us to lead them through the AI transformation. Our productisation of AI ensures that intelligence serves our customers and not the other way around.”

At the core of monday.com’s AI vision are three foundational pillars meant to simplify and enhance the way teams work:

• AI Blocks: monday.com’s modular, customisable AI actions allow customers to harness AI within new and existing workflows with no technical expertise required. Customers can leverage advanced capabilities such as “Categorise,” “Extract,” and other AI-powered actions to analyse data, identify patterns, and streamline decision-making with just a few clicks. 
• Product Power-ups: AI capabilities will be seamlessly embedded throughout monday.com’s suite of products to help customers tackle the most critical challenges. From resource management and predictive risk management to CRM data automation and real-time service ticket resolution, these capabilities enable teams to make faster decisions and streamline processes.
• Digital Workforce: A scalable, AI-powered team of agents designed to work around the clock. These specialised digital workers will handle tasks such as analysing project risks, unlocking stuck sales deals, and identifying recurring customer service issues. In March, monday.com plans to launch its first AI agent, monday Expert. This agent is designed to assist with onboarding new users to the platform, provide guidance on achieving specific actions across products, and even carry out tasks on users’ behalf.

To ensure AI remains accessible, monday.com offers a flexible and transparent pricing model for AI Blocks. Every plan includes 500 free AI Credits per month, providing teams with a simple way to explore the power of AI. For organisations with more significant needs, additional credits are available through buckets that scale with usage. Options range from a starter pack of 2,500 credits, geared towards lower usage, to enterprise buckets of 250,000 credits, providing flexibility for businesses of all sizes. 

Over 245,000 customers trust monday.com to deliver flexible, reliable, and scalable solutions for managing their work, and that extends to how the company approaches and implements AI. monday.com prioritises transparency, explainability, and ease of adoption to ensure its AI is intuitive, practical, and transformative for organisations of all types and sizes. By embedding AI to enhance rather than disrupt existing workflows, monday.com ensures that teams can confidently leverage its capabilities while maintaining full control.  

monday.com’s AI capabilities are already driving significant impact, with customers performing approximately 10 million AI actions as of the end of FY24, nearly tripling quarter-over-quarter, highlighting its value across various industries. 

Learn more about monday.com’s AI product offerings here.

The latest monthly product trends update from Shopify is in, and we’ve also pulled out the top-selling items from Boxing Day specifically. 

As with previous versions, Shopify analysed first-party platform data to reveal Australia’s top trending products for December and Australia’s favourite Boxing Day purchases. Shopify powers 25% of all online commerce in Australia, for reference.

Diving into Boxing Day sales, Shopify discovered that Apparel and Beauty products dominated the top-selling product categories. The full list is below, based on the total volume of items sold. 

10 top-selling items from Boxing Day by total volume:

1. Shorts 
2. Lotions & Moisturisers 
3. Nail Polishes 
4. Eye Makeup 
5. Body Makeup 
6. Face Makeup 
7. Boxer Briefs 
8. Temporary Tattoos
9. Trunks 
10. Sunscreen 

Across the whole of December, Aussies embraced creativity, celebration, and self-improvement. The data below is based on trending products, which are those that have seen the biggest month-on-month spikes. 

Arts and crafts 

• Aussies found themselves flexing their creative muscles over the holiday season, with the highest trending product category in December being Colouring Books & Pads, which went up by 1345.1%.
• With the new year upon us, it’s the time to prepare the vision boards and take up journaling as a resolution. Bulletin Board Accessories (80.7%), Bulletin Boards (17.6%), Journals (12.5%) and Pens & Pencils (11%) all saw significant spikes MoM.

Holiday happenings

• The holiday season brought a surge in festive favourites, with Note Cards skyrocketing by 224.1% and Greeting Cards up 144.7% as people spread cheer far and wide.
• Shopify data proved that indulging in seafood remains a beloved holiday tradition with Fresh & Frozen Seafood sales jumping 64.4% in December. Sweet treats like Cherries (28.5%) and Chocolate-Covered Fruit (27.7%) also made their way onto holiday tables. 
•  Outside of mealtimes, Aussies kept safety top of mind, with Breathalyser sales soaring 77% as drivers stayed mindful of holiday double demerits.
• However, not all festive traditions endured during the Christmas season with advent calendars seeing a 90.6% MoM decline. 

Waiting for boxing day to stock up on essentials

• Boxing Day was all about stocking up on our fashion, health and beauty essentials.  Shorts took the highly anticipated top spot, followed by a range of skincare favourites,
• with Lotions & Moisturisers, Nail polishes, Eye Makeup and Sunscreen all landing in the top 10 products purchased. 
• Boxer Briefs ranked as the 7th most purchased item despite overall sales dropping by 67.1% MoM in December, while Trunks ranked 9th, continuing with the trend of shopping for bottoms.
• But it wasn’t all about stocking up on everyday essentials. Surprisingly, Temporary Tattoos ranked 8th on our shopping lists on Boxing Day as Aussies got festival-ready or sought to adorn themselves with something fun during summer. 

New year, new me, new hobby

• As the year wrapped up, Aussies set their sights on cultivating new hobbies and deepening existing passions. Many tuned into their musical side, with Electronic Musical Instruments soaring by 85.8%, while others aimed to capture memories with Instant Film Cameras up 72.2%. 
• Gamers freshened up their favourite consoles with Portable Game Console Skins seeing a 132.8% spike, while green thumbs emerged as Greenhouse purchases grew.
• This year might be the one where Aussies finally invest in their dream ride, with Motorcycles & Scooters sales soaring by 102.2%. They’re also gearing up to ride the waves, as Bodyboards sales rose by 47.8% and Wakeboard Parts by 40.2% MoM in December.
• Aussies are unleashing their inner kitchen wiz, and are taking on new kitchen ventures with Yogurt Makers (41.9%.), French Presses (30.6%), and Barbecue Briquettes (26.7%) coming in hot in December. 
• But while many Aussies opened their wallets for their hobbies, spending on everyday essentials remained important with the rise in Toilet Paper (79.3%) to purchases of Electric Toothbrushes which grew by 69.6%.

Please see other key figures below:

Top-selling items in December:

1. Colouring books & pads 1345.1%
2. Underwater Camera Housings 531.1%
3. Sound Synthesisers 263.9%
4. Note Cards 224.1%
5. Greeting & Note Cards 144.7%
6. Electric Traps 141.9%
7. Portable Game Console Skins 132.8%
8. Motorcycles & Scooters 102.2%
9. Water Sport Tow Cables 98.7%
10. Electronic Musical Instruments 85.8%

Top trending tech products:

1. Portable Game Console Skins – 132.8%
2. Tablet Computer Parts – 43.7%
3. Game Racing Wheels –  42%
4. Turntables & Record Players – 39.5%
5. Radios – 38.5%
6. Satellite Receivers – 36.3%
7. Game Controller Accessories – 32.1%
8. Hard Drive Carrying Cases – 29%
9. Portable Game Console Cases – 28.9%
10. DJ Systems – 28.7%

Top trending food and beverage products:

1. Oat Drinks – 75.4%
2. Fresh & Frozen Seafood – 64.4%
3. Seafood – 57.7%
4. Cheese – 33.2%
5. Cherries – 28.5%
6. Chocolate Covered Fruit – 27.7%
7. Stone Fruits – 24.8%
8. Pastries & Scones – 24.4%
9. Donuts – 24.3%
10. Garlic – 22.9%

Top trending apparel products:

1. Satchel Bags – 65.7%
2. Wig Accessories – 56.3%
3. Card Cases – 49.1%
4. Track Jackets – 42.9%
5. Bucket Bags – 25.9%
6. Cowboy Hats – 16.3%
7. Sweatpants – 14.8%
8. Snow Pants & Suits – 14.8%
9. Bucket Hats – 14.5%
10. Watch Winders – 14.4%

Methodology: 

• December sales by Shopify merchants in Australia are based on data from December 2024, compared to data from November 2024.
• Boxing Day sales by Shopify merchants in Australia are based on the volume of sales per category on December 26, 2024. 

Epson has launched two new compact desktop scanners, the ES-C320W and the ES-C380W, to support the digitalisation process and address new office challenges associated with hybrid working – in particular shared workspaces, smaller offices and reduced desk space.

These new scanners give users the versatility to choose the most suitable media path, and by featuring an intuitive design and exceptional flexibility boast a new footprint that saves 60 percent of desk space¹. This means users can easily conquer clutter and reclaim space with scanners specifically designed for productivity and peace of mind.

ES-C320W

To enhance workflow efficiency, there is easy wireless scanning with the ES-C320W and the ES-C380W. Then the inclusion of Epson ScanWay® with the ES-C380W means users can also use the product as a standalone solution, scanning and selecting workflows from its bright 2.4″ LCD touchscreen, removing the need for a PC. Users can also scan to popular cloud-based services, including OneDrive^®, Sharepoint^® online and Microsoft Teams^® using Epson Connect^®2.

ES-C380W

With two-sided scanning, and a 20-sheet auto document feeder, the new scanners can efficiently handle stacks of paper in one fast pass at speeds up to 30 ppm/60 ipm.³ The flexible scan path provides remarkable versatility and the ability to scan most document types, from standard paper to invoices, greeting cards, business cards and passports.⁴

ES-C380W

Both models include a range of image and text enhancement technologies, including OCR (optical character recognition) processing, automatic cropping, paper skew correction and Epson ScanSmart^® Software.⁵ These features help ensure excellent image quality and enable users to preview and email scans as well as save valuable time with automatic file name suggestion for streamlined file management.

Zoom held its inaugural CX summit in Asia Pacific (APAC), exploring how organisations can move beyond buzzwords to unlock the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) in shaping the customer journey. The event featured keynotes from Ricky Kapur, Head of APAC at Zoom; Chris Morrissey, Head of Zoom Contact Center; Simon Kriss, Asia’s leading voice on AI in CX, as well as perspectives from the industry, including representatives from Lenskart and Iress.

Key takeaways from the event include:

Transforming businesses with superior CX

●      In his keynote, Ricky Kapur emphasised the rapid evolution of customer experience (CX). Customers are now seeking differentiated experiences from brands, not just products or services. Personalisation, swift issue resolutions, and genuine empathy at every touchpoint are crucial to building customer trust and loyalty.  

●      With almost 60% of customers willing to leave a brand just after one or two negative support experiences, every interaction shapes brand perception. The stakes are now higher than ever.

●      Legacy solutions cannot solve modern customer expectations and customer service teams must be equipped with the right tools to enable seamless experiences and real-time engagement. Many organisations are looking to AI not just to address customer pain points but to help their agents become more productive and empowered with the right information to solve issues.

○      In fact, Frost and Sullivan projects that investment is expected to increase to over 70% across all AI areas in the next two years.

●      Organisations need a single platform that provides a consistent and seamless experience – both internally for collaboration, and externally for customer interactions. By doing so, businesses can create more demand, increase customer loyalty, and accelerate revenue.

Advancing innovation in CX with AI

●      AI-powered customer service can benefit every aspect of an operation, from delivering exceptional user experiences for customers and agents to creating more cost-effective, efficient workflows.

○      In his keynote, Simon Kriss highlighted several use cases of AI that has transformed CX in APAC, including:

■      Real-time translation between call centre agents and customers, especially in a region as diverse in languages as Asia – helps customer service teams to respond promptly regardless of the language used, resulting in enhanced customer satisfaction while reducing the need to hire language specialists.

■      Automated post-call summaries not only save time for human agents but provide more consistently formatted summaries that can be more easily analysed at a later stage.

●      Zoom Contact Center is the first video-optimised omnichannel contact centre in the market, offering over 700 features designed to elevate customer experiences. Recently introduced AI innovations include:

○      AI Companion for Contact Center, which provides live transcription, summarises calls, and even generates follow-up tasks for agents in real-time.

○      AI Expert Assist, an intelligent feature that transforms customer interactions by analysing conversations on the fly and provides agents with information they need – right when they need it.

○      Zoom Workforce Engagement Management, which harnesses AI-generated insights to forecast staffing needs, automate scheduling, and plan agent workload.

●      “Organisations today strive to provide a connected, unified experience for everyone that interacts with the brand, be it an agent, an employee, or a customer. In order to do so, there needs to be a change in technology capabilities, particularly by harnessing a modern AI-powered CX platform like Zoom that looks at CX and employee experience as one,”  said Chris Morrissey, head of Zoom Contact Center.

Building customer trust through AI-powered CX

●      The event also featured a customer panel discussion with Lenskart, Asia’s largest eyewear company serving 40 million people, with more than 1,500 omnichannel stores across 175 cities in India, Singapore and Dubai, and Iress, a global provider of financial services software.

●      The panel explored the evolving role of AI in shaping customer experiences and agent engagement, and how organisations can strike the delicate balance between technology, efficiency, and human connection.

●      The panellists agreed that humans must be put at the centre of AI implementation. With the right tools and training, customer success teams can leverage insights to make data-driven decisions for better business outcomes.

○      Rahul Rupani, Product Owner at Lenskart said that a significant challenge they faced was managing the uneven distribution of optometrists across different regions in India. To address this, Lenskart turned to Zoom Contact Center which enabled optometrists to carry out remote eye tests for customers via video. Rahul added that the company is also planning to utilise AI features in Zoom Contact Center to enhance CX outcomes while scaling their services. By analysing data from these remote interactions, his team will be able to quickly identify areas of improvement such as whether optometrists are following the guidelines of an eye test.

○               Kelly Fisk, Chief Corporate Affairs and Marketing Officer, Iress, highlighted that the true power of AI is to free the human up for higher-value work,  such as building relationships and making informed decisions. This is how Iress has leveraged Zoom Contact Center for its support teams. Large amounts of data from customer engagements are analysed with AI and fed back to product and customer support teams. This has helped drive quality control and coaching for employee development and has empowered team leaders to manage customer queues and resourcing more effectively, ultimately resulting in more positive CX outcomes.

Shippit, the last-mile delivery platform  across Australia, New Zealand and Asia, has announced a strategic partnership with eBay Australia, through which thousands of sellers on the platform will have access to best-in-class shipping and fulfilment solutions and services. 

The partnership will deliver optionality and deliverability for all customers, but for the first time the sellers with freight that is traditionally hard to handle will have the same shipping optionality as anyone else. Currently, eBay sellers can access a labels platform that enables them to quote, print and pay for labels for items up to 22kg. 

Through the new integration with Shippit, eBay sellers will be able to access a solution for heavier, bulkier items such as hardware, furniture and electronics. In the last financial year alone, 2.7 million deliveries – with a total value of over AUD$2billion – over 22kg were shipped through the Shippit platform. 

As consumer demand for quick, convenient and transparent delivery increases, the partnership with Shippit, enables eBay sellers to:

• Ensure seamless post-purchase experiences with automated and reliable tracking notifications and dedicated delivery support;
• Access flexible and fast fulfilment solutions to streamline pick and pack workflows and packaging decisions for consistent, error-free fulfilment;
• Centralise controls and access to leading and specialised carriers plus exclusive delivery rates for flexible shipping options at checkout.

Shippit evolution

The integration continues a recent trend through which Shippit has been selected as a partner of choice and integrated into global eCommerce platforms including Wix and Shopline. Last year, meanwhile, Shippit announced a landmark partnership with Uber, through which thousands of retailers would have access to one-hour delivery.

“We’re incredibly excited to partner with eBay, bringing the power of Shippit’s last mile platform to its retailers who are looking to maximise their customers lifetime value, while not sacrificing operating margins” said Chris Weaver, Chief Commercial Officer at, Shippit. “Retailers, not just in Australia but across APAC, rely on Shippit daily to ensure that the delivery promises they make to their customers are kept. Shippit is a mission-critical part of the ecommerce tech stack for retailers, small, medium and large. Our data shows retailers with multiple carriers grow faster, and we’re excited to be able to provide those capabilities to eBay sellers in Australia, many of whom are small businesses.

“We’ve spent the last nearly-10 years building the industry’s most advanced shipping and fulfilment platform. But as the industry evolves, so too must Shippit. That’s why we invest heavily in research and development, and in partnerships and integrations. By investing in that, we’re investing in our customers and in our customers’ customers. Partnering with eBay today – as well as Wix, Shopline, Uber and all those that will follow – is an endorsement, from the industry, of our mission to shape the future of retail and bring retailers, carriers, and consumers closer together.”

“At eBay we are committed to delivering the most value possible to our sellers and that is why we selected Shippit to help power last mile delivery,” Marie Griffiths, Head of Shipping and Trust at eBay Australia, added. “Together with Shippit, our sellers are going to be able to build trust with their customers by meeting the delivery promises made – from the very first purchase. We can’t wait to see our sellers capitalising on this partnership as soon as possible.”

Over 100 million deliveries are booked through the Shippit platform every year. Since its launch in 2014, over $7.5bn worth of ecommerce orders have been fulfilled through Shippit’s platform, on behalf of thousands of retailers including Kmart, Cotton On, Woolworths, Total Tools, Temple & Webster.

For more information about Shippit and eBay’s integration, visit shippit.com/ebay. 

As the cost of living continues to rise and more and more people are looking for ways to lower their expenses, Australia’s Aspera Mobile has celebrated its 10-year anniversary by launching a new range of low cost, full featured phones. The first smartphone to be launched in the new range is the unlocked 4G AS5 which at just $99 includes face recognition, a 5-inch display and a removable 2000mAh battery.

The 4G AS5’s main features include:

• Face recognition
• Octa-Core 1.6GHz CPU
• 2GB RAM + 32GB ROM plus up to 1GB additional virtual RAM allocated from unused ROM
• 5-inch FWVGA display
• 4G connectivity with VoLTE data calls improving voice quality
• 5MP rear and 5MP front camera
• 2000m Li-Ion removable battery
• Micro USB, Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi hotspot connectivity
• Dual 4G SIM slots
• Android 13 (Go edition) 
• 4G bands – 1/3/5/7/8/28a+b, 3G bands – 850/900/2100Mhz
• 146.5mm*74mm*9.9mm in size

Aspera Mobile MD Allan Robertson explained, “We were delighted to celebrate our tenth year as a fully Australian owned and operated business this year. To mark the occasion we are launching our new range of phones starting with the AS5 4G smartphone for just $99. For the AS5 we are offering many of the features that are included on higher priced smartphones and thus by definition redefining what is possible at this price point. For example, the AS5 offers a 1.6GHz Octa-core processor, 2GB RAM plus 1GB virtual RAM and face recognition, which we believe is the first time this combination of features have been offered in Australia in an unlocked smartphone under $100. You will pay significantly more to see all of these features in other phones.”

Aspera has always tried to offer the best value for money in all of their phones. During Covid-19, the company saw increasing supply chain and logistics costs with the $99 price point for smartphones all but disappearing as a result. More recently, as these cost pressures eased, the company is now once again able to offer Australian consumers a highly featured smartphone for just $99.

Robertson continued, “The AS5 and the other phones we will launch this year set us apart from our competitors. The AS5 is a compact, well featured but lower cost smartphone aimed squarely at the younger audience, the budget conscious and indeed anyone who wants the power and versatility of a smartphone at a fraction of the cost of what you will pay from many other manufacturers. It has a quality feel, two good cameras and many other features which make it terrific value at just $99.”

The AS5 also brings more smarts to its memory use with its clever Octa-Core CPU and ability to re-assign any available ROM to create an additional 1GB of virtual RAM and help the OS and apps launch and run faster and more efficiently.

Robertson continued, “The AS5 is one of six new Australian designed models set to release in 2023. Our customer support centre is also based in Australia and as a result of our continued commitment to the Australian market, I’m delighted to say we recently notched up over one million phones sold and we have also continued to export products to the wider Oceanic region.”

Having made it through the many challenges presented by Covid-19 and now experiencing a robust and rapid expansion, Aspera’s new AS5 forms part of a wide range of products from the company which includes over 60 different models of featured, smart and rugged phones brought to market to date.

Allan Robertson concluded, “We are very proud of our 10 years of manufacturing good quality, reliable and low-cost phones. The AS5 very much embodies Aspera Mobile’s value for money ethos by delivering customers a lot of functionality and performance blended with good design and without the premium price tag. The AS5 essentially redefines Aspera’s value proposition at the entry level and also appeals to retailers who know their budget conscious customers want to stay well connected and have a great experience on their smartphone.”

The new Aspera Mobile AS5 4G smartphone is available now and can be purchased for just $99 at retailers including Big W, Ritchies IGA, Seasons IGA, Freedom Fuels, Trinity Petroleum, Mobiciti and Personal Digital.

For more information on the new 4G AS5 go to: https://asperamobile.com/phones/smart-phones/aspera-as5/

Mastercard is conducting a pilot with Service NSW and Tipple to allow consumers to verify their age securely and seamlessly in the digital and physical world. The pilot Mastercard’s digital identity service, ID, to verify their age when making an online liquor purchase at Tipple.

This latest pilot follows Mastercard’s accreditation under the Australian Government’s Trusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF) and builds on previous pilots that explore how ID can securely connect and integrate with services from other identity providers.

Protecting consumers’ information through ID ensures that businesses have a convenient, secure and smart way of minimising security and fraud risk, instilling trust in their customer interactions without adding unnecessary friction or sacrificing a quality user experience. It can also reduce the likelihood of identity crime, which costs Australia upwards of $1.6 billion each year.

When making a purchase at Tipple, participants verify their identity by connecting to the Service NSW app which has been integrated with the Mastercard ID Network. The only information received by Tipple is a verification indicating the consumer is over 18 years of age. Consumers do not need to share their date of birth, identity document numbers, or copies of their documents. This approach ensures that only the minimum amount of information needed to complete their purchase is provided, helping to preserve the consumer’s privacy while streamlining the transaction.

“In today’s landscape, there needs to be a better way to provide quick and easy access to goods and services, without the hassle of sharing physical ID documents. Mastercard is working with the public and private sectors to build a national identity ecosystem where citizens can trust that their personal information is safe and secure. Connecting with trusted, innovative platforms like Service NSW and Tipple extends the value and use of ID to more providers and partner organisations in Mastercard’s network,” said Richard Wormald, Division President, Australasia, Mastercard.

“For digital identity adoption to become mainstream, it is critical that the customer has a seamless experience and the confidence that the information they are sharing with the provider is secure. By partnering with Mastercard for Service NSW, we’re providing our customers with market leading solutions from trusted providers. We are extremely excited and proud to be involved in the pilot,” said Ryan Barrington, Chief Executive Officer, Tipple.

Mastercard’s digital identity service was built with interoperability in mind and can connect existing identity providers with other organisations, like Service NSW, with verification facilitated by Mastercard’s highly secure network.

ID enables customers to create a convenient, safe, and reusable digital identity, allowing them to share verified information quickly and securely. Using data encryption and biometric authentication to protect personal identity information keeps consumers in control of their data and reduces fraud, enabling them to choose what information to provide, to which organisations, and when. Leveraging Mastercard’s global network and data privacy practices, ID offers a highly secure end-to-end solution for digitally creating, managing, and verifying identities.

Mastercard has been scaling ID in Australia since 2019, announcing partnerships with Optus, Samsung, and Microsoft. Mastercard will continue to roll out ID in other industries and verticals across Australia, helping businesses solve real-world problems, including reducing fraud and identity theft, while improving the consumer experience.

Please visit mastercard.com.au/id to learn more about Mastercard’s vision for digital identity.