One in three small firms lose sales due to payment problems. Stripe and HSBC power Tap to Pay for UK small businesses.
According to HSBC UK research conducted by Censuswide among 594 small business owners with turnover below £2 million who are involved in processing customer or client payments or transactions, 33% have lost a sale because they could not accept a customer’s preferred payment method.
More than two-thirds (69%) of owners believe the average customer will wait no longer than five minutes before giving up on a purchase, including 32% who put the limit at two minutes or less. The findings point to a wider need for simple, flexible ways to take payments: 67% say accepting contactless is essential or very important to meeting customer expectations, whilst businesses spend an average of 2 hours a week on payment-related administration. One in five (22%) respondents reported customers abandoning the purchase when they couldn’t take a card payment.
In this context, Stripe, the programmable financial services company, is powering a new Tap to Pay offering from HSBC UK, bringing payments infrastructure trusted by some of the world’s largest companies to small businesses through their bank.
“Eligible HSBC UK small business customers can accept supported contactless payments directly on a compatible smartphone, without an additional card reader. Businesses can get set up in their HSBC Business Banking app.” – according to the press release.
“Tap to Pay gives sole traders and businesses an additional, simple way to take payments using their phone. Helping serve customers wherever business happens,” said Gavin Maclean, Head of Global Payment Solutions UK.
“Small businesses drive the UK economy, but payment admin slows them down. We can take that hassle away and give them better ways to get paid so they can focus on growing,” said Marc Fryer, Head of Revenue and Growth UK & Ireland at Stripe.
Stripe and HSBC launched this capability after research also found that 52% said that accepting contactless payments is “essential or very important” to meeting customer expectations. 78% also spend at least one hour a week on payment-related administration.
In addition to this, 69% believe that customers will wait no longer than five minutes when a problem with their payment occurs, with 34% putting their limit at two minutes or less.
Gavin Maclean, head of global payment solutions UK, HSBC said: “Nobody wants to lose a sale because a customer cannot make a payment. For a small business, every purchase matters — and an awkward few minutes at the till can be the difference between making a sale and watching somebody walk away. Tap to Pay gives sole traders and businesses an additional, simple way to take payments using their phone.
