Small businesses want convenience and simplicity from payment technology, according to new customer data from BankiFi.
The embedded banking provider, star of our FinTech 50 ranking last year, released stats accrued following the launch of numerous app-based payment solutions with banks across the UK, including The Co-operative Bank and TSB.
These show that businesses from a wide range of sectors continue to trust payment links such as SMS, email and QR codes when requesting payment on invoices, particularly in situations where the buyer and seller know each other personally.
The trend comes despite years of warnings from banks about a perceived heightened app fraud risk through payment links, with customers’ desire to collect money in a fast and easy manner far outweighing any concerns.
The data also revealed that two-thirds of payment requests sent via BankiFi’s apps are paid within one to two days – often seeing businesses paid well in advance of invoice due dates which is considerably quicker than the global average.
Over 58% of sellers showed a preference to send payment requests via SMS-based services when given the opportunity to do so, and that these SMS-based services have the highest paid rate of 79%.
72% of unpaid requests are paid when the user reminds their customer using the ‘resend’ function available via BankiFi’s SMS-based services. This convenient option allows customers to avoid chasing payments via phone call, or email.
Around the world, small businesses continue to be disproportionately affected by late invoice payments, which can have a big impact on their cash flow levels.
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“Our customer data highlights that businesses want simple and convenient solutions, particularly when dealing with parties they know on a human-to-human basis,” said Mark Hartley, founder and CEO.
“Fraud is still a big issue, but in situations where SMEs know their customers, it’s not as much of a concern. The issue is the same for hundreds of SMEs, from nail technicians to fire walkers – they want to collect their money as fast and easy as possible.
“We’re sharing this information around SIBOS, as it’s highly relevant to many of the banks in attendance. The data shows that when tailored to an SME audience, SMS-based services and email can work as an effective customer acquisition tool, it also shows that the use of face-to-face payments via QR codes are also on the rise.
“Solutions like this also fit a growing trend of account-to-account payments solutions, which allow SMEs and other businesses to make and receive payments without the need for additional hardware, such as card readers.”