Goran Abramović, CEO and Co-Founder of Aplauz, explains how online payments can be a winning game for everyone as long as consumers have the ability to control their online spending, keep their data private and shop with confidence.

Every payment should be a conscious choice. In a booming e-commerce market, consumers are expressing a growing need to control their online spending, keep their data private, and shop with confidence. Aplauz is a response to these needs, enabling conscious spending with a socially sustainable means of payment in the hybrid digital economy.

Have you ever discovered unexpected charges on your credit card? Most of us have. Unfortunately, this often happens.

Last month, my neighbor gave her son access to his credit card to buy an online game he loved. At least that’s what she thought. When she discovered the many unexpected extras, her jaw dropped.

She questioned her son, just as surprised. He had no idea he had spent so much money on his mother’s credit card. While playing, he accidentally accepted a subscription and accepted some in-game purchases.

It was an expensive lesson in confidence. Next time around, they would both be more careful with online payments to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Suspicious of online payments

This scenario is played out every day around the world.

It’s not just children who love to play. Finding unexpected charges on a credit card statement has happened to many digital citizens who spend part of their lives online. And it still seems unfair.

They just want to enjoy their digital life, but feel like they are taking a risk every time they enter their credit card details online.

According to Newzoo’s research of Esport Spenders in Europe, “More than half (53%) of digital consumers in the UK said they’ve canceled or canceled a payment online. Of those who canceled, 27% indicated that privacy concerns (related to personal data) were their main reason for doing so ”.

In particular, Generation Z has become suspicious of online payments. To protect themselves, digital citizens have become increasingly mindful of their online spending, opting for what’s available for free instead of taking the risk of paying more than they expect.

In addition to worrying about how much they are spending, digital citizens are uncomfortable sharing private information with a faceless screen. Why would they be? Compare it to offline payments: a shopper goes to a store, chooses what they want and briefly taps their card at the machine. They don’t have to disclose any personal data, which makes the transaction easy, transparent and fair.

What if online payments could be the same?

Give digital citizens the choice

Aplauz is changing the rules of the game. The company was founded in 2020 with the mission of making every online payment a conscious choice: easy, transparent and fair. We want to allow everyone to enjoy their online life, in complete transparency and without any financial risk.

That’s why the Netherlands-based Aplauz team goes above and beyond to ensure the customer’s freedom to make conscious spending choices.

They can simply go to a local convenience store to purchase an Aplauz voucher with the exact credit value they want. When they use it to pay on a website that accepts Aplauz payments, only the prepaid value of the voucher can be spent. Unexpected charges are not possible. And because the voucher does not contain any personal data, the user’s privacy is also secure.

Aplauz users are always aware of their spending. It also makes them more willing to spend because they know they won’t lose control in any way.

Aplauz is already available in more than 2,000 convenience stores in Switzerland and we will be rolling it out across Europe this year, to provide millions of digital citizens with a fair way to pay.

In this game we all win

Aplauz is not just about empowering the end user. For online merchants, this is a great customer acquisition tool for selling to the many customers who were previously unreachable, such as people who:

• want to protect themselves against unexpected charges;

• are reluctant to share their personal and financial data;

• do not have access to traditionally accepted online payment methods, such as credit cards.

To offer Aplauz as a means of payment is in fact a statement of social responsibility which shows that the merchant cares about the relationship with his customers.

With 30 million visitors each week, Aplauz’s distribution network across Europe provides access to first-rate advertising space for Aplauz partner merchants. We also offer the possibility of conducting joint marketing campaigns by email, social media or online advertising.

What we’re most proud of is that Aplauz is a win-win model:

• digital citizens win return to freedom of choice in their spending;

• partner merchants earn customer confidence;

• convenience stores win traffic to their stores.

So, are you ready to join the winning game? Contact us to add Aplauz to your checkout.

About Goran Abramović

Goran is the CEO and co-founder of Aplauz and co-founder and CEO of The Own. Solutions Group, the parent company of Aplauz. Over the past 17 years, Goran has been committed to building bridges between physical and digital commerce using the latest available technologies as the foundational pillars. Working closely with the Own.Solutions physical store network, Goran is passionate about making convenience stores an active player in the transformation of digital commerce. Aplauz is a great way to do this and a unique tool for reaching untapped customer base for digital merchants.

About Aplauz

Aplauz is a prepaid digital credit that allows people to spend mindfully. Aplauz vouchers can be purchased at convenience stores and used to make online payments without any of the traditional online payment methods and without having a bank account. It’s ideal for those who don’t have a credit card or don’t want to disclose their financial information, to shop securely online while keeping spending under control.