Furthermore, 82% have announced plans to change how their business sends and receives payments. Citing difficulty with cash flow and collecting payments, half of the respondents added a new digital service for collecting funds while one in four transitioned to electronic invoicing.

With 68% saying cash and check deposits take too long, small businesses decreased their use of cash and checks more than any other payment types during the pandemic.

Citing speed, security, and transparency, more than half (57%) of small businesses say they have increased their use of digital services for business-to-business (B2B) payments since the start of the pandemic.

To address these challenges, 64% of small businesses say they are actively trying to steer clients away from using cash and checks. Findings from the new Mastercard study show:

• Shift to digital business payments - with the majority of small businesses citing speed and security (91%) and transparency (87%) as top priorities, 82% say they’ve changed how their business sends and receives payments with 51% transitioning their clients to digital methods. Online card payments saw the greatest increase at 60%, while the use of cash (34%) and checks (24%) decreased more than any other payment types during the pandemic.
• Digital payoff - 67% of small business owners agree that one upside to the pandemic is that it prompted them to upgrade their digital/e-pay solutions, which 81% say has improved customer satisfaction levels.
• Positive sentiment, increased customer satisfaction, and continued exploration suggest small businesses plan to stick with digital business payments, even as the pandemic subsides. 70% say they are willing to invest in the technology required to advance their payment systems and 73% say digital payments are the new normal for their business going forward.

The research was conducted from July 13 to 17, 2020, when over 1000 small business owners in the United States and Canada were interviewed online.