Visa Survey Shows Quarter of SMBs to Accept Crypto Payments in 2022

A recent survey conducted by Visa shows that one quarter of small and micro businesses (SMBs) are planning to accept crypto as payments in 2022, the payment company said in a press release on 12 January.

According to the announcement, more than 2,250 SMB owners and 5,000 adult consumers participated in the “Visa Global Back to Business Study – 2022 SMB Outlook”. The survey was conducted across nine markets, including Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Russia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. The Global Head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring at Visa, Jeni Mundy, said in a statement:

“Payments are no longer about simply completing a sale. It’s about creating a simple and secure experience that reflects one’s brand across channels and provides utility to both the business and its customer. The digital capabilities that small businesses built up during the pandemic – from contactless to e-commerce – helped them pivot and survive and, by continuing to build on this foundation, can now help them find new growth and thrive.”

The survey showed that 24% of SMBs were planning to to accept payments in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) in 2022, while 82% said they were planning to accept “some” form of digital payments. 73% of respondents also stated that accepting new forms of digital payments was going to be “fundamental to their business growth”. While the majority of SMBs expect to go completely cashless, 64% think it will happen in the next 10 years, and 41% said it could be within the next two years.

In the same survey, 41% of consumers said they had “abandoned a purchase in physical store” because it did not accept digital payments. In fact, 16% stated they have already transitioned to only using digital payments, while 53% said they expected to make the shift within 10 years.

It’s not only small businesses that are looking to implement crypto as a form of payment. Last week the CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, revealed that the top suggestion his company received was to add an option to pay in crypto when booking through Airbnb. Last year, UTAP — a global payments network owned and operated by airlines around the world — partnered with BitPay to allow its clients to pay in crypto for their travel.