NEW REPORT: Ukraine Banker Says Fast Digital Payments Critical in Times of Crisis

As the world faces multiple instances of business disruption and marketplace uncertainty, small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) may be at even greater risk of financial harm than larger businesses when payments are late or difficult to manage. The digital modernization of payments was once thought of as a nice-to-have option, but it has become a vital process for SMBs, especially those facing uncertainty.

“The SMB Guide to Navigating Black Swan Events: Managing Risk By Accelerating Innovation,” a PYMNTS and Payoneer collaboration, examines the role of innovation in creating risk management and long-term business resilience.

Payments Are at the Heart of Business Resilience

Efficient payments processes are at the core of SMB growth, but they are also critical for long-term business resilience after a black swan event (an internal or external circumstance that causes wide-ranging disruption to business operations or conditions).

Our report finds that even in the absence of a black swan event, SMBs need access to a payments infrastructure that allows them to grow, monitor and optimize their sales, costs and payments processes. Payments are crucial to business growth for SMBs, as their reliability solidifies business relationships and supports revenue growth.

A remedy for the challenges of navigating marketplace uncertainty and maintaining business growth, the report finds, is accelerating digital transformation — adopting tools or using a platform that makes sending and receiving funds a consistently rapid and secure process.

“Transformation is not exclusively the occasional use of digital payments as a tool to speed up revenue flows but instead a shift toward innovation as a driver of business stability, development and longevity,” the report noted.

SMBs Need to Think About Transaction Visibility, Even Amid Uncertainty

According to the report, transaction visibility is key for SMBs that want to keep tabs on their businesses’ health and track how global events impact their future.

SMBs seeking to remain competitive in a crowded marketplace need transparency across all transactions, as well as the ability to send and receive funds from any party in a secure, regulatory-compliant fashion. This generally entails using a robust, user-friendly digital platform that integrates transaction monitoring with global payments processing.

In addition to transaction visibility, access to a robust payments network is critical for ensuring seamless payment flows as SMBs adjust to new realities. The report features an interview about the challenges of managing risk in times of uncertainty with Olha Prykhno, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at global digital transformation technology company Innovecs.

Within the report, Gerhard Bösch, chairman of Ukraine’s national bank PrivatBank, talks about managing risk and creating resilient business operations amid uncertainty.

To learn more about how SMBs can create strategies for resilience, download the report.