Business Growing but Electronic Payment Adoption Remains Slow

By Staff Writer Atlanta Trend

• Aug 18, 2021

Businesses are growing but electronic payment adoption remains slow, according to findings released on December 1st by MerchantE in its 2020 Digital Business Report.

Says EVP and Chief Product Officer Sandra Blair, "Whether a business is selling online or digitizing disbursements, we are bringing ready-to-use enterprise solutions to companies and eliminating the need for additional technology & consulting investments."

The online survey of 500 business decision makers was conducted in July and August of 2020, and paints a clear picture of organizations largely growing during the COVID-strained economy, despite slow adoption of digital finance technologies driving a more contactless world.

Key findings from the report include:

• Two-thirds of organizations surveyed would characterize their business as growing

• Only one-fourth receive payments entirely electronically

• Top business challenges are hiring/retaining employees and technology efficiencies

• More than half acknowledged that they experience some unpredictability surrounding cash flow

• 48 percent of businesses surveyed spend more than $10K per year on financial management software

Survey data also suggests that digital adoption remains slow among small businesses:

• One third (35 percent) of companies still track time manually

• Nearly 40 percent still send invoices manually

• 40 percent process payroll manually

• 43 percent submit expense reports manually

• 44 percent handle reporting manually

• 45 percent manually reconcile accounts receivable

• Almost half (46 percent) manually reconcile employee expenses

“Our 2020 Digital Business Report provides a snapshot of a significant moment in time for growing businesses. Now, more than ever, organizations must invest in technologies that make them more mobile, agile and ready to thrive in a digital world,” says Blair. “While the outlook for small businesses remains strong in the face of pandemic, the dependence on manual financial services and hand-to-hand transactions constrict resources that directly impact a company’s bottom line.”

MerchantE makes managing money and cash flow easier and more efficient for growing businesses. Earlier this year, the brand announced its new Money InTM, Money OutTM and Money MaxTM Services, a suite of products specifically designed around how money comes into a business, how it goes out, and the necessary analytics to maximize financial decisions. MerchantE also recently announced a same day funding service to enable merchants to take control of their card transaction funds within minutes of batching out, even on weekends.