SMBs Want Digital Business Cards—But Don’t Take Away The Human Help
By CU Today Staff —
NEW YORK--Small business owners increasingly want digital tools from business credit card issuers, but many still expect access to a person when they need assistance, according to PYMNTS.
A PYMNTS Intelligence report produced with Mastercard found that preferences vary significantly by age, company size and reliance on cash.
PYMNTS said 22.8% of SMB owners surveyed preferred completing a business card application digitally on their own, the largest share of any channel. But human-assisted options were close behind, with 17.8% preferring live chat with a person and 17.6% choosing a phone representative, suggesting owners value digital speed but want human assistance available when necessary.
The differences were particularly pronounced by demographic and payment behavior, PYMNTS reported. None of the Gen Z owners surveyed selected a self-service digital application as their top choice, while 32.7% preferred email support. By comparison, 31.1% of Baby Boomers favored self-service applications. Among businesses with no reliance on cash, 41% preferred self-service digital applications, while cash-heavy businesses showed a greater preference for phone support.
PYMNTS said the findings present a challenge for card issuers because smaller, rural and cash-reliant businesses—the firms that may have the most to gain from moving away from cash—are also among those most likely to value human support. The report suggests issuers may see greater adoption by combining streamlined digital tools with clear access to human assistance during critical points such as onboarding and problem resolution.
Originally reported by CU Today.