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Corporate Firm Resources, Financial and Business Services

Beyond Cost and Convenience: What UK Small Businesses Really Want from Payment Providers

Jeremy Hayward: Former Chief Customer Officer at Lloyds Banking Group

Introduction

As the UK’s small and medium business landscape evolves, payment solutions remain a critical factor in operational success. To understand current challenges and opportunities, we spoke with Jeremy Hayward, former Chief Customer Officer at Lloyds Banking Group, about the pain points, preferences, and decision-making processes that drive small and medium-sized business (SMB) payment solution adoption.

  1. What are the biggest pain points small businesses in the UK face when accepting card payments from customers today?

    • Costs and speed of receipt of funds (impacting cash flow) are the biggest pain points. Businesses that deal with consumers must accept card payments that come with an associated cost, which is usually minimal (driven by EU regulation) except for American Express, which has a higher fee – which is why many businesses do not accept AMEX.
    • Increasingly, B2B businesses must accept card payments and are subject to higher costs. They can charge these back (as a fee for using the card), but few do, and must consider including card costs in their overall fee for their product or service. Cash flow is key for all small businesses, and if there are any delays with receipt of funds from card payments, this can cause real issues.

 

  1. When small businesses evaluate point-of-sale (POS) systems, which features matter most – cost, ease of use, or integration with other tools?

    • Cost is the first thing considered, but ease of use (as all small businesses are time-poor) is fundamental. Many small businesses are using POS systems to modernize how they manage their finances, especially retailers.
    • Easy integration into their accounting platform, e.g. Xero, will also be very important.

 

  1. What prevents more small businesses from adopting modern payment technologies like contactless or mobile POS systems?

    • They don’t see the need. The systems they have work, and they don’t see a benefit in changing or think it would be a hassle to change.
    • Adopting new systems is time-consuming and can appear to be very complex if no assistance is provided.

 

  1. Where do traditional card payment systems fall short for small businesses, and what could make them easier to adopt?

    • They require a change of their processes to accommodate the payment system – they need to be flexible and easily configured to the approach the businesses use.
    • They don’t integrate easily into their accounting systems, meaning that bookkeeping is difficult and time-consuming – they need to offer a simple API linkage so data can flow quickly.

 

  1. What specific neobank offerings (like instant settlements or integrated accounting) are most appealing to SMBs, compared to traditional payment providers? Which features actually drive switching behavior?

    • Instant settlements, integrated accounting, and a single cost irrespective of card network are very appealing. An easy setup process and a transparent pricing approach are key.

 

  1. Despite their advantages, what prevents more SMBs from using neobanks as their primary payment solution?

    • There is a risk when choosing a brand that you’ve never heard of without a visible presence when entrusting them with your money. Many businesses are conservative and therefore choose known providers like the merchant-acquiring businesses of their banks. However, as neobanks get known, create traction, and gain increasing numbers of users, this risk reduces. That’s why brands like Stripe and SumUp are doing so well in this market.

 

  1. Are there any vertical-specific features that make it more appealing for SMBs to select payment providers?

    • As previously mentioned, many small businesses use tools provided by their payment provider to modernize their operating systems. For example, booking engines for restaurants and beauty treatments can be linked to the payment engine in a way that is easier for the business. Businesses also appreciate help with marketing and promotion, and if payment companies could create some kind of network to link businesses with consumers through discounts or other offers, this would be advantageous.

 

  1. What factors influence SMBs switching from one payment provider to another?

    • Businesses tend to switch for a few reasons:
      • Cost: They feel that they are being overcharged.
      • Service: The system doesn’t work effectively, is unreliable, or experiences delays with payments.
      • Recommendations: Someone they trust says they are using an alternative service, and it has good features. Cost would need to be equal or better for businesses to go to the effort of changing in this instance.

 

Conclusion

Jeremy’s insights reveal that while cost remains important, SMBs prioritize ease of use, reliable support, and seamless integration over price alone. The growing success of companies like Stripe and SumUp shows the adoption of new providers that deliver real value. For payment providers, success requires transparent pricing, flexible solutions that integrate into existing workflows, and building trust that traditional banks have long held in this conservative market.

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Speaker Biographies

Hilary Malone PhD, has over 25 years of experience in global drug development, regulatory &government affairs, manufacturing and commercialization within the biopharma industry. Hilary hassignificant board level and executive committee experience including large scale organizationalrestructuring/transformation/integration, major M&A, biotech start-up, capital raising, investorrelations and pre-IPO.​

Hilary is currently CEO of Stylus Medicine, a private genetic medicine biotech company. Previously sheserved as CEO of a Series-A neuroscience company. Prior to these roles, Hilary served as COO & EVP atValo Health Inc., Chief Regulatory Officer & SVP at Sanofi Inc., and Chief Regulatory Officer & SVP atPfizer and Wyeth. Previous experience also includes senior regulatory and drug development roles atReata Pharmaceuticals Inc., AstraZeneca plc and GlaxoSmithKline plc.​

Hilary also serves on the Board of Directors of Hansa Biopharma and Adthera Bio. Hilary holds a PhD inMolecular Neuropharmacology and a BSc in Physiology.

Dr. Thomas Lönngren is Director at his own company PharmaExec Consulting AB. He is the Chairman of the Board of directors at Egetis Therapeutics AB, Sweden. Dr Lönngren also serves as board member at Compass Pathways PLC, London UK and NDA Group, Sweden. He acts as advisor to the following companies and organizations: NDA group, Sweden, Sweden, Artis Venture, San Francisco, US, Fujimoto Japan, Skin2Neuron Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia, US, Special advisor to the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science (CIRS), London UK. From 2001 until2011, Mr.Lönngren served as the Executive Director of the European Medical Agency. He was previously Deputy General Director of the Swedish Medical Product Agency until 2000. He has a degree in pharmacy and MSc in Social and Regulatory Pharmacy from Uppsala University. He is also an Honorary Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Great Britain, Honorary Doctorate from the University of Uppsala, Honorary Doctorate from University of Bath, UK.

Speaker Biographies

Marie-Anne Aymerich

Marie-Anne has built a portfolio of senior advisory and non-executive roles, following a successful international career in the FMCG and Luxury sectors. She is a non-executive director of Haleon, a FTSE100 company listed in 2022 after the demerger from GSK. She is also chairwoman of Haleon Environment and Societal Sustainability committee. She is the executive director of the Pierre Fabre Group where she also sits on the Strategic Committee, and she is a Board Member of The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, one of the world’s most prestigious chamber orchestras. She is also an angel investor and focuses her time and investments on start-ups with the strongest purpose and impact.

Marie-Anne is also a regular lecturer at HEC Paris on purposeful leadership, and she has created a serious game called “Planet Purpose” to upskill people on sustainability and purpose. Throughout her 35year executive career she delivered a strong track-record of business performance and growth in brands and portfolio in both developed and emerging economies.

As a senior leader with Unilever, she led a number of different personal care categories across France, Spain and the USA – including managing the Dove brand worldwide and culminating in leading Unilever’s global Oral Care division. She also worked for LVMH as Brand General Manager of Dior Perfumes and Cosmetics worldwide. Marie-Anne was also Vice-President of Imagine for Margo – Children with Cancer for ten years, a charity she helped found in 2011 with the goal of eradicating children’s cancer. The charity is the #1 charity focused on child cancer in France and has fundraised more than €14m since its creation. Marie-Anne is a graduate from HEC Paris. She is married and has two children aged 29 and 26.

Patrick Jephson

Patrick Jephson is a consultant, journalist, broadcaster and New York Times bestselling author, based in Washington D.C. He is a published authority on corporate and personal branding and crisis communications, addressing conferences worldwide as well as events at the U.S. State Department, the American University and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

With more than twenty-five years’ experience in the government, luxury and family office sectors, Patrick’s portfolio has included globally admired brands as well as national agencies and NGOs. He has also worked on reputation and legacy briefs with European, Middle Eastern and Asian families, including royalty. He now writes, presents, and advises on factual and drama TV programs, appearing on every major American and many international networks. He was recently an expert consultant to the award-winning Netflix series The Crown and provided live commentary on the Coronation of King Charles.

Patrick owes much of his practical communications and protocol experience to Princess Diana, who chose him to be her equerry and only private secretary/chief of staff. He served the Princess for eight years, responsible for all aspects of her public life, global humanitarian initiatives, and private organization. Having worked for an internationally high-profile woman (and as the father of two professionally successful daughters) he feels a special affinity for cross-cultural, gender and perception issues.

Patrick was born and raised in Ireland and holds a master’s degree in political science from Cambridge University. As an officer in the British Royal Navy, he served all over the world before being selected for royal duty. He is a citizen of the U.K., U.S.A., Ireland, and Canada.