A new survey by Payments Canada has revealed that 81% of small businesses in the country are ready to adopt new payment technologies.
With preference for safe and secure methods, the merchants are seeking more options for point-of-sale (POS) and back office payments, including e-transfers, e-wallets and digital currencies.
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Titled Payments Pulse: Small Business Survey Edition, the study further showed that 61% of the businesses are willing to discard cash payments, while 67% would move away from cheques.
About 54% of merchants said that their current payment processing activities are time-consuming and 87% believe that the payments industry should continue to evolve.
Payments Canada president and CEO Gerry Gaetz said: “Given the growing demand for fast, safe and convenient digital payment formats, coupled with the business need to maximise margins, it’s no wonder small business owners are open to more payment innovations.
“There appears to be a higher demand for faster alternative methods as most business owners are willing to move away from cash and cheques – that is, once they have other options.”
According to Payments Canada, deployment of new digital payments system can see significant operational efficiencies, leading to $3bn to $6.5bn savings in annual expenditure that businesses are currently incurring over payments.
