The majority of UK businesses are embracing the benefits of using financial technology products and services and are reportedly saving thousands of pounds as a result, new research has found.
MarketInvoice conducted research into the awareness, use and benefits of FinTech products and services by surveying more than 3,400 businesses across the UK.
The business finance company found that 77 per cent are aware of FinTech products and services and 65 per cent have adopted at least one application, with almost a fifth (19 per cent) taking on four.
These adopters reported saving, on average, over £5,500 a year.
Businesses reported using FinTech products and services for banking transactions (23 per cent) and foreign exchange services (16 per cent). Meanwhile, one in four (24 per cent) reported using cloud-based software for their accountancy functions and a third (32 per cent) used online lenders for business loans or invoice finance.
Only 2 per cent of businesses are using insurance technology services.
“The expansion of tech-driven digital services has been remarkable over the past five years,” MarketInvoice CEO and co-founder Anil Stocker said.
“We know that consumers have been adopting tech applications into all parts of their lives, but our research shows that now UK businesses are also becoming tech-savvy.
“Fintech applications are revolutionising the way business is being done from how employees report their expenses to the way businesses report their financial performance. Entrepreneurs always seek out the best means to drive their businesses and clearly fintech products and services are becoming a stable part of this approach.”
When asked what the main attraction of using FinTech products and services was, more than half (56 per cent) said it saves time and money, while a third (34 per cent) were impressed by the user experience.
The survey also found that a tenth of businesses used bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies at some point in the past year in processing payments. Of those that didn’t, a fifth said these currencies are expected to feature in their payment transactions over the next 12 months.