Despite innovations in payments, small businesses are still running into speed problems, according to WePay’s “State of Small Business Payments 2020,” published last week. WePay is a payment software solutions provider for small businesses.

Even before the pandemic, payments were a major issue faced by small business owners, according to the report; 39% of business owners said they encountered speed-related payment issues in the last month. Meanwhile, 18% of respondents said slow payments cost them $5,000 or more in the past year. Despite technological advancements, 39% spent five hours or more per week dealing with payment issues.

“With all the speed advances and ease of accepting digital payments, small businesses still often operate with thin margins,” according to the report. “The size of a small business means they have less access to liquidity, both in terms of their own capital and third-party financing.”

For the report, WePay surveyed 1,000 small businesses with fewer than 100 employees from Feb. 21-26, before the pandemic squeezed many SMB’s budgets even tighter.

Most SMBs are looking for a “combined bank and software solution company.” Seventy-seven percent of businesses with more than $1 million in annual revenue saying they would consider working with a solution from a bank and an independent software vendor, according to the report.

Nearly 52% of respondents said their current payment solution was “good,” 34%said their solution was excellent, and 13% said it was average and 1% said fair. More than a quarter of respondents, or 28%, said they were “likely” or “very likely” to switch their payment solution provider in the next 12 months.

WePay was acquired by JPMorgan Chase in 2017 for $400 million for its Chase Merchant Services. Despite the acquisition, the payment solutions provider runs quasi-autonomously, serving small businesses across the country.

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