Inflation is driving down small business satisfaction with payment processing solutions, according to a new survey on merchant services satisfaction by J.D. Power. Small business satisfaction with merchant services providers was 853 on a 1,000-point scale, down 6 points from the same survey in 2022. The decline was largely driven by dissatisfaction with the cost of service, coming as two-thirds of business owners say inflation is negatively affecting their operations. The largest drops in satisfaction were among restaurants and businesses with less than $1 million in annual revenue.
“Now is the time when merchant services providers really need to prove their value to small businesses by offering proactive service and support to address inflationary concerns and high-quality technology that works every time,” said John Cabell, managing director of payments intelligence at J.D. Power.
A majority of business owners said glitches were a common occurrence, with the most frequently cited problems including cards being declined; tap/dip/swipe issues; frozen screens; and receipt malfunctions. Still, businesses that use in-person mobile devices reported having faster account funding and significantly higher cost-of-service satisfaction than in 2022. Bank of America ranked highest in merchant services satisfaction with a score of 886. Square ranked second with 873 and PaySafe was third with 867.
