SMBs find cash increasingly expensive to manage
Businesses are moving faster towards a cashless society because it's cheaper than handling "real" money. This is according to a new report by Sage, integrated accounting, payroll and payment software provider. The company’s latest report says small and medium-sized businesses are losing £9.4bn each year through cash payments.
A quarter (24 percent) say that staff members stole some cash, a third (34 percent) believe human error had them losing money, and more than half (56 percent) claim they spend at least an hour every week counting and sending money to the bank.
All these reasons are giving businesses strong arguments for moving to a cashless business model. More than a third (34 percent) say cash will be much less prevalent by 2020 than it is today, with contactless becoming the most popular payment method.
"Our research proves that cash is bad for business. It’s costly and inconvenient, and appetite is growing for more innovative and flexible payment methods", says Seamus Smith, CEO of Sage Pay.
"The stats we’ve seen come out of this study are part of a wider trend. We know that cash use is in decline. The number of cashpoints in the UK have hit a peak, yet people are withdrawing cash less and less. Link is reviewing the need for hole-in-the-wall machines as consumers opt for more innovative types of payments. At the same time, Mastercard has recently launched ‘selfie pay’ and Alibaba is soon to introduce a virtual reality payment system".
"Payments should be seamless, frictionless -- and more often than not, cashless. Innovation in the sector has never been greater but Small & Medium businesses must keep pace with change. They are the lifeblood of the UK economy, and their success is critical to our national growth".
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Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox