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The very point of sale
The ve ry point of sale Stronger SMBs
A June 2022 study by Digital.com, Inflation may force 2 in
3 businesses to close in 2022, found a majority of small and
midsize businesses (SMBs) struggle to make payroll. Of
the 1,000 SMBs polled, 33 percent view their own business
Surviving the age closures as "likely" and 32 percent as "very likely." Economic
impacts are being felt across the sector, researchers noted,
of uncertainty from established SMBs to many of the 5.4 million pre-
pandemic startups.

By Dale S. Laszig "Businesses founded just before the pandemic, between
2017 and 2019, are even more likely to be struggling," Digital.
DSL Direct LLC com researchers wrote. "Seventy-three percent of these
businesses say closure is likely. Even the majority of well-
ehind every successful POS app, there's a fin- established businesses are being threatened by inflation.
tech striving to iterate as quickly as consumers Fifty-seven percent of businesses founded between 2007
change their minds. Indeed, a June 2022 survey and 2011, and 55 percent of businesses founded before 2007
B suggests another course correction is upon us. say permanent closure is 'likely' or 'very likely' if inflation
Lost in Transaction: Consumer Payment Trends 2022, commis- doesn't ease up."
sioned by Paysafe and conducted by Sapio Research, called
the current economy an "age of uncertainty" for consumers Researchers also found 97 percent of the 1,000 businesses
around the world. surveyed have taken steps to avoid closures, with 40 percent
issuing pay cuts, 31 percent reducing wages, 32 percent
"In April 2022, we commissioned a survey of 11,000 laying off staff and 37 percent raising prices or changing
consumers in 10 countries across Europe and the Americas product lines to cut costs. The study is available at: https://
to find out how their payment preferences are evolving," digital.com/inflation-may-force-2-in-3-small-businesses-to-
researchers wrote. "In particular, we explored the impact close-in-2022/.
of the rising cost of living, the role of cash, consumers'
attitudes towards security and convenience in online Educated consumers
payments, the adoption of embedded payments, and how
people perceive neobanks." Inflation hurts consumers, especially those with subpar
credit, according to TransUnion's Q1 2022 Credit Industry
Paysafe attributed record inflation and escalating prices to Insight Report. The May 2022 report found marginalized
cautionary spending habits. Researchers found 44 percent consumers carry more debt in 2022 than in recent years.
of survey respondents have reduced online purchases; 40 Rising interest rates and economic uncertainty could
percent monitor their daily spending and 21 percent avoid dampen growth even more, researchers warned. "Lenders
credit and short-term financing. will need to [monitor] subprime and near prime consumers
across their portfolios for signs of deterioration as they
Better tech continue to lend in this segment," TransUnion researchers
wrote. Additional details can be found at www.transunion.
For retail and hospitality-focused fintechs, consumer com/blog/q1-2022-quarterly-credit-industry-insights-report.
checkouts are more than transactions; they're proof of
concepts that make it out of the lab, past QA and debugging Damon Kirk and Steven Farrar, co-founders of Obsidian
failures that will never get to say, "Pay here." Afshin Banking, believe financial wellness begins with trust. "We
Yazdian, CEO of Paysafe, U.S. Acquiring, urged payment saw general distrust of big banks in the Black community
providers to help merchants create seamless checkouts and and built a product with the trust and relatability that was
targeted offers by leveraging payment technology. lacking," Kirk said.

"Direct marketing and social media updates can further Kirk, CEO at Obsidian Banking, will moderate a discussion
help merchants stay connected and top of mind with on the power of minority transactions and financial health
customers, while highly targeted coupons or discounts in underserved communities with panelists Audrey
available with many modern payment systems can Blackmon, general manager, strategic partnerships at
improve customer loyalty," Yazdian said. "Finally, whether BHG Financial; Rashedia Mayhane, CEO and founder of
it's the online checkout or in-store experience, offering Greenchips; and Quincy McKnight, CEO for Covenant Pay
customers a variety of payment choices for safe, secure and Partners. The panel will be held Aug. 22, 2022, in Atlanta,
convenient checkouts can play a critical role in maintaining at the MPC Digital Commerce Event.
that loyalty."The Paysafe report is available at: www.paysafe.
com/fileadmin/user_upload/Lost_in_Transaction_Consumer_ Dale S. Laszig, senior staff writer at The Green Sheet and managing
Payment_Trends_2022.pdf. director at DSL Direct LLC, is a payments industry journalist and content
strategist. Connect via email dale@dsldirectllc.com, LinkedIn www.
linkedin.com/in/dalelaszig/ and Twitter @DSLdirect.
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