How do people in Papua New Guinea pay online?
Few people are online yet. The World Bank, using ITU data, puts internet use at 18.8% of the population in 2024, and ATMs at 7.3 per 100,000 adults in 2022. Public data on how shoppers pay at online checkouts is limited, so the picture below is drawn from what banks and wallet providers offer.
Cards are the main way to pay a website. Kina Bank, for example, issues a Visa debit card linked to an everyday account and says it can be used for secure online purchases and worldwide, with travel to be registered with the bank in advance.
Banks also run their own online payment gateways. The Kina Internet Payment Gateway is Kina Bank’s e-commerce platform, which lets businesses take payments through their website or app.
Mobile wallets reach people without a bank account. Business Advantage PNG reported in July 2025 that Digicel’s CellMoni wallet had about 1.6 million individual users, around 53% of Digicel’s PNG customers, and that about 4.4 million Papua New Guineans are registered as having a mobile phone. BSP’s Wantok Wallet works without a bank account, internet or smartphone.
Google Pay is on Google’s list of countries where people can pay online and in apps. Apple Pay is not on Apple’s list for Papua New Guinea.
What rules shape online payments in Papua New Guinea?
GST is 10%. PwC’s tax summary, reviewed in September 2026, says GST applies at 10% to most goods and services supplied in Papua New Guinea, with exports zero-rated and medical, educational and financial services exempt.
Foreign exchange access has been a constraint. In December 2025 the IMF said access to foreign exchange had improved significantly thanks to central banking reforms and greater flexibility of the kina, and that the crawl-like exchange rate arrangement remained appropriate to tackle the kina’s overvaluation and help its return to convertibility. Cross-border sellers settling in foreign currency should allow for this.
Digital money is being explored. The Bank of Papua New Guinea launched a central bank digital currency proof of concept with partners in January 2025. The Governor described it as a first step, with further studies needed before any wider pilot.
How would Omno route payments in Papua New Guinea?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency, amount and customer group. In Papua New Guinea:
- Card payments in PGK would be routed by BIN to a provider that acquires Visa and Mastercard, with cascading to the next provider in the rule if one is unavailable or rejects the request.
- Bank gateway payments could be offered through a local bank’s internet payment gateway, with the final status confirmed by the provider’s notification.
- Mobile wallet payments would go to a provider connected to a wallet such as CellMoni, with the order held until the wallet confirms.
- Google Pay would be offered on the hosted checkout and routed under the same card rules.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for a small but growing online audience. Internet use was 18.8% in 2024, so mobile-first pages and light checkout steps matter.
Plan for wallets as well as cards. CellMoni and bank wallets reach shoppers who do not hold a card.
Plan for GST at 10% on most goods and services supplied in Papua New Guinea.
Plan for FX timing. Settlement in foreign currency depends on the kina market, which the IMF says has improved but is still moving toward convertibility.