What's Hot in Small Business – Chris Crum
Chris Crum writes for Small Business Resources about what's new for small business. Chris was a featured writer with the iEntry Network of B2B Publications where hundreds of publications linked to his articles including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, LA Times and the New York Times.

Small Businesses Look to Digital Payments for Growth

Small Businesses Look to Digital Payments for Growth

Visa recently released results from a survey, finding that 90 percent of small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) are optimistic about the future of their companies. This is the highest the number has been since the survey was first conducted. Visa polled small business owners and consumers in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Russia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.

Fifty-four percent of SMBs polled reported that their businesses were doing well heading into 2022, up from 46 percent who said the same last summer.

The survey also found that 82 percent of SMBs will accept digital payment options this year. Nearly half (46 percent) of consumers also expect to use digital payments more often. Only four percent said they would use digital payments less.

Fifty-nine percent of small businesses said they plan to go completely digital with payments over the next two years, or they are already cashless. Only 16 percent said they would never make the shift to only digital.

"A majority of SMB respondents expect their business to shift to relying exclusively on digital payments in the future," Visa said in a press release.

The survey found that 64 percent of respondents anticipate being able to make such a shift within 10 years. Eighteen percent are cashless already.

Digital payment

Image via Visa

Visa Head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring Jeni Mundy commented, “Payments are no longer about simply completing a sale. It’s about creating a simple and secure experience that reflects one’s brand across channels and provides utility to both the business and its customer. The digital capabilities that small businesses built up during the pandemic – from contactless to e-commerce – helped them pivot and survive and, by continuing to build on this foundation, can now help them find new growth and thrive.”

Eighty-two percent of SMBs said they plan to accept digital options this year, while 73 percent view accepting new forms of payments as "fundamental" to their business growth. Twenty-four percent even said they intend to accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

Ninety percent of small businesses with an online presence said their survival through the pandemic was due to increased efforts to sell via e-commerce. On average, over half of revenues came from online channels in the last three months of the year.

Key Global Insights

Image via Visa

On the consumer side of things, over half of the respondents said they expect to shift to being cashless within the next ten years, with 25 percent saying this would happen in the next two years. Sixteen percent reported already using only digital payments. Forty-seven percent said the top benefit is easier online shopping, followed by less risk of robbery (38 percent), and convenience (37 percent).

Another finding of note is that 41 percent of consumers surveyed said they have abandoned a purchase in a physical store because digital payments were not accepted, and, as Visa points out, younger shoppers are even more likely to do this.

It is clear that consumers are shifting toward a world where they have to rely less on paper money, and businesses are already following suit. The next decade of commerce may look nearly unrecognizable compared to that of the past.


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