Only 5% of UK SMEs have no issue with their current Payment Service Provider (PSP)

More than half of SMEs (52%) are frustrated by slow response times

Fear (29% worry about adoption costs), uncertainty (31% worry a change will impact CX), and contract lock-in (28%) are preventing UK SMEs from switching PSP

Mollie, one of the fastest growing payment service providers in Europe, today shared initial findings from a survey examining the state of the UK ecommerce sector, through the lens of small and medium-sized (SME) merchants. The assessment of the 500-strong representative cohort reveals a lack of proactive advice and support from Payments Service Providers (PSPs) but also a fear of switching.

More than half of SMEs (52%) reported being frustrated by slow response times. Nearly two in five (39%) complain that communications methods are not appropriate to their needs, and over a third (35%) say that their biggest frustration with their PSP’s customer service is the lack of issue resolution. Over one third of businesses surveyed have unresolved issues and a staggering 95% of those report service issues - just 5% were completely satisfied with the service they receive. 

In the last two years a third (34%) of UK SME ecommerce merchants have switched PSP and a further 37% have considered switching. Only 12% have never changed and 9% have never even considered it. The main reasons for switching, or considering a switch, are cost, complexity and poor customer support, but there are a number of factors that prevent switching.

Uncertainty surrounding the potential impact on customer experience (31%), fear of the costs of adopting new technology (29%), and complications with switching (28%) are the key factors preventing UK SMEs from switching PSP. Also ranking highly is the feeling it is too risky (23%), a lack of internal skills to manage the change (18%); and integration concerns (28%). For almost a third (28%) of UK SME ecommerce merchants, contractual lock-in was a major factor preventing switching.

“UK SMEs are quietly dissatisfied with their payment service providers, accepting and working around unresolved problems and unresponsive support. Fear, uncertainty and lock-in prevent them from switching,” says Josh Guthrie, Mollie’s UK Country Manager. “Amazon already accounts for more than 30% of UK ecommerce sales and this will intensify, threatening UK SME growth ambitions. UK SMEs deserve better - they need PSP partners with hosted onboarding to ease switching, a superior checkout experience to drive conversion and dedicated customer support that can help SMEs compete and grow, not just process their payments.”