2023 Small Business PaymentsInsights: U.S.: Payment Acceptance Services & Card Payment Processing

Small businesses make up the largest segment of businesses in the U.S. economy. Understanding the types of payments these businesses accept and the vendors that enable these services is critical to understanding the U.S. payments landscape. Small businesses are on the front lines to adapt to changing consumer payment preferences and must be ready for change.

Payment acceptance has widely remained the same as last year. Cash is still the most widely accepted payment method for in-store transactions, followed by checks, debit cards, and credit cards.

On the other hand, payment acceptance preferences showed some interesting results. Although cash was the most preferred payment for use in-store, we were surprised to see that credit cards were the second most preferred payment despite their swipe fees being higher than debit cards. Contactless payments acceptance continues to grow, a pandemic trend that continues to accelerate. Businesses accepting cash only risk falling behind in an increasingly digital world.

Small businesses want products that are easy to use, easy to understand, and they value the support relationship with their vendors. Acquiring banks and POS providers are a major source of support for payments acceptance, and brands like PayPal and Square continue to be market leaders.

Highlights of the research report include:

• Payment Acceptance
• Payment Service Providers
• In-Store Payment Technology