Small Businesses Inherit Big Business Money Problems

Large corporations and small businesses aren’t the same. The most obvious difference is sheer scale, but the knock-on effects of that scale have effectively erected an operational wall between what the world’s multinational enterprises do for their day-to-day growth and what a domestic Main Street business does.

But new findings in “The Cross-Border Opportunity: What Global Sourcing by US SMBs Means for Payment Providers,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and Mastercard collaboration, reveal that the wall separating corporate operations and small and medium-sized business (SMB) workflows is growing more porous. As international sourcing becomes routine rather than exceptional, America’s small businesses are inheriting enterprise finance responsibilities ranging from foreign exchange management to supplier liquidity and cross-border cash flow.

Nearly 6 in 10 U.S. SMBs surveyed (57%) now purchase goods or production inputs from overseas suppliers, while nearly three-quarters of firms generating between $1 million and $10 million in annual revenue source internationally. Even among businesses earning less than $150,000 annually, more than 4 in 10 now buy from foreign suppliers.

The shift is redefining what modern SMB finance teams are expected to do.

Global Commerce Is Giving Small Businesses New Treasury Functions

The globalization of supply chains is quietly creating the globalization of finance operations. While millions of businesses still consider themselves local or regional operators, the bulk of them are now managing financial challenges that until recently belonged almost exclusively to multinational corporations with dedicated teams for managing foreign exchange exposure, optimizing global liquidity, monitoring cross-border cash flows and negotiating payment terms across international supplier networks.

Small businesses, by contrast, balanced their checkbooks, paid vendors and managed working capital largely within domestic banking systems. At least they used to. The report illustrates how rapidly this global procurement strategies have spread. International sourcing is no longer concentrated among manufacturers. Retailers, hospitality companies, entertainment firms and other service businesses are relying on overseas suppliers for specialized products, equipment and inventory. Global procurement has become part of ordinary business operations rather than an indicator of multinational scale.

Still, report finds that nearly two-thirds of internationally active SMBs continue paying overseas suppliers primarily in U.S. dollars, despite sourcing heavily from markets throughout Asia and Europe. Only a small minority primarily transact in suppliers’ local currencies.

On the surface, paying in dollars simplifies accounting for U.S. businesses. In practice, however, it often transfers currency conversion costs and exchange-rate uncertainty to suppliers, who frequently recover those costs through pricing or build additional risk premiums into commercial relationships.

A payment sent to a manufacturer in China, an equipment supplier in Germany or a specialty food producer in Mexico requires more than simply moving money. It introduces questions around exchange rates, settlement timing, banking infrastructure, liquidity planning and supplier payment preferences. Every transaction becomes a decision about how efficiently cash moves across borders.

Read the report: The Cross-Border Opportunity: What Global Sourcing by US SMBs Means for Payment Providers

The report also points toward another structural shift: payments are becoming embedded inside broader operating software rather than existing as standalone banking activities. Traditional financial institutions remain the dominant providers for cross-border payments, but FinTech platforms are gaining adoption while receiving the highest satisfaction scores among non-cryptocurrency payment providers. At the same time, accounting platforms with embedded payment capabilities continue expanding their role within SMB finance operations.

Just as customer relationship management became embedded throughout sales workflows and artificial intelligence increasingly operates inside productivity applications, treasury capabilities are gradually becoming integrated into everyday financial operations. Instead of logging into separate banking portals to initiate international transfers, SMB finance professionals increasingly expect payments to occur directly inside accounting systems, procurement workflows and enterprise software platforms.

The modern SMB finance leader increasingly balances bookkeeping, forecasting, accounts payable, procurement support and international treasury decisions simultaneously. For SMBs with limited finance staff, reducing operational complexity may prove as valuable as reducing transaction costs.

The report ultimately suggests that the future competitive landscape among SMBs may not be determined solely by who discovers the best overseas suppliers. It may depend on who manages those global relationships most effectively.