1 in 5 Small Businesses Don’t Accept Digital Payments, Despite Increased Demand During COVID-19

Consumers Have Rushed to Digital Payment Options Such as Paypal and Venmo to Avoid the Spread of COVID-19 During Transactions, but 19% of Small Businesses Can’t Accept These Payments. Small Businesses Struggling to Stay Afloat Should Accommodate New Customer Preferences by Adopting Cashless Payment Options.

19% of U.S. small business owners don’t offer their customers a digital payment option at check-out, according to a new survey from Visual Objects, a visual guide to finding and hiring the best creative firms.

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As cashless payment options become more popular with shoppers who are nervous about spreading the deadly virus, adopting digital payments may be essential to staying in business.

Jennifer Jancosek accepts several forms of digital payment as the principal attorney of Jancosek Law, an estate planning firm in California. She agrees that digital payment options are key to retaining customers during the global pandemic.

“Those who refuse to adapt to the current situation may get left behind as consumers transition to other businesses that are more responsive to their needs,” Jancosek said.

More than half of small business owners predict they will have to permanently close their doors after three months of COVID-related restrictions. Expanding payment options to accommodate customer preferences could serve as a way to stay in the fight.

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PayPal Top Digital Payment Platform for Small Businesses, but Venmo and Square Also Popular Due to Unique Benefits

Small businesses are searching for reliable, credible payment options that will elevate their business and play a role in earning customer loyalty.

Many companies have found reliability and convenience in PayPal (63%), given its lasting prominence in the e-commerce space and early rise to fame as eBay’s main payment processor.

Competitors such as Square (32%) boast a streamlined UX, while Venmo (22%) provides a social media-inspired interface, and both Google Pay (19%) and Apple Pay (18%) offer increased mobile connectivity as benefits to adoption.

However, small businesses like Valley Tree Masters, a tree service company, would rather stick with PayPal than adapt to a new system without a guaranteed return.

“If PayPal wasn’t meeting the needs of our customers and our business, then we would definitely look at options like Square or Venmo,” said Dan Riggs, president of Valley Tree Masters.

While it’s not difficult for small businesses to try new payment apps, many are happy to stick with a reliable option, which favors long-standing options like PayPal.

Small Businesses Are Hesitant to Adopt Cryptocurrency Due to Perceived Volatility

Despite the excitement surrounding cryptocurrency in the media, only 3% of small businesses accept it as payment.

Small businesses admit that their hesitations come from cryptocurrency’s volatility in the market and a lack of consumer demand.

Visual Objects surveyed 500 small business owners and managers to gain insight into which digital payment options are most commonly accepted as consumers move away from cash.

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