Mastercard has released its 2022 Borderless Payments Report, highlighting the challenges of small businesses and their recourse to cross-border payments to stay afloat during the pandemic. Three thousand small to medium enterprises (SMEs) around the world were surveyed.
According to the report, 67 per cent of SMEs surveyed in Canada said that the pandemic altered their business model forever, with 36 per cent still fearing that they will never achieve pre-pandemic revenue levels. Fifty per cent reported that cross border payments helped them survive the pandemic, while 29 per cent noted that they would have folded without the wire transfers from international business, making cross-border payments key to business growth, post-pandemic.
Wire transfers, however, still present some challenges, given the delayed and hard-to-track processing of payments, making them susceptible to fraud. Thirty-one per cent of SMEs expressed frustration regarding the lack of transparency on foreign exchange fees and transactions.
Mastercard Cross Border Services says the report provides guidance to help cross-border payment providers educate users, broaden payout options, speed up transactions, and improve pricing while enhancing transparency and tightening security.
“As Canadian businesses recognize the potential to scale abroad with the help of digital transformation, it’s crucial that financial institutions have the right cross-border solutions to support them,” said Ramesh Jayakrishnan, vice president, new payment platforms, Mastercard. “Cross-border payment systems must become faster, economical, and more secure.”
The full report can be accessed here (Registration required).