Based on a survey of 602 UK, French, and Polish SMEs, the report reveals that SMEs are sticking with traditional financial services providers despite new demands from digital-first businesses.
Over half of SMEs now do some form of international business and a further 13% expect to start doing so soon. In 2008, sixty percent of all transactions were paid in cash. Fast forward to a decade later and payments come in a variety of different methods. Thirty-four of SME customers are paying by bank transfer, 23% by cash, 23% by credit/debit card and 19% by other means.
Despite this, almost a quarter of SMEs have not switched business account provider since 2008. In total, 63% have had the same provider for more than five years. Why? Thirty-eight percent of SMEs in Poland and France, and 27% in the UK, cited proximity to branches as key factor in the selection of their current business account providers.
Just over a quarter of SMEs also stated they still visit a physical branch of their provider every day. Over half say they seldom or never call their provider and just under half seldom or never visit a branch. In contrast, 43% of SMEs use web / app interfaces to manage their business accounts daily and a further 30% do so weekly.
However, the findings suggest the status quo is set to change, with just under half of SMEs revealing that they are looking to change business account providers in the next twelve months.
What SMEs value in business account partnerships is telling. Eighty percent of SMEs picked out 24/7 access to their accounts as important. Security (89%), transparency of charges (89%) and low fees (86%) were also rated highly.
SMEs’ desired attributes of a business account provider are also revealing. Half of SMEs want a business account to be user friendly - the most popular attribute amongst respondents. Automation of regular tasks (28%) and ‘perks’ (25%) were the next two most desirable attributes.
Revolut Business is the business service offering from the app-based banking alternative Revolut, with over 300,000 business customers worldwide. The service was launched in July 2017 across the UK and Europe and allows companies to sign up for multi-currency accounts in minutes, transfer money, and issue employees with corporate cards for global fee-free spending.
Methodology
The primary research was commissioned by Revolut Business and conducted by Sapio Research in November 2019. The sample was comprised of Business Owners, Managing Directors, Senior Managers, CFOs and Financial Directors, from SMEs with 1 to 250 employees. The sample was divided between the UK, France and Poland and covered several vertical markets including Financial Services, Retail, Professional Services, Manufacturing and Hospitality.
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