Businesses lose 22.6 hours per week to payment administrative tasks such as system reconciliation, chasing late payments and resolving disputes, according to the latest white paper published by Global Payments Inc and its Australian subsidiary Ezidebit.
The analysis, titled 2025 Ezidebit Australian SMB Payment Pulse, surveyed more than 300 small and medium businesses across various industries and identified the material costs and scale of fragmented payment systems.
Aside from the hours lost, the report also found that 54 per cent of businesses experience regular late or missing payments, affecting cash flow. Moreover, one in four businesses believe they are losing customers due to ‘the payment gap’ that fails to meet customers’ payment preferences.
The report also noted that fragmentation is widespread, with SMBs using an average of 3.5 payment methods across 2.1 providers, growing to 4.4 methods for larger businesses.
Security is also a concern, with 27 per cent of SMBs citing worries about payment process security and 17 per cent reporting that customers have raised trust issues relating to security.
Despite this, only 20 per cent of businesses have consolidated their payment providers, even though 93 per cent of those using multiple payment providers are open to doing so, which are often held back by perceived barriers of change.
“Australian SMBs are at a tipping point when it comes to payments, and our 2025 Payment Pulse shines a spotlight on the hidden costs they’re incurring when managing multiple systems to balance their books and meet customer expectations,” said Masseh Haidary, CEO Payments Oceania at Global Payments.
“Cashflow is the lifeblood of SMBs. When you’re busy chasing late or missing payments, you’re not focused on growth. Critically, complexity from multiple systems and providers is also posing security concerns for businesses and their customers, further eroding trust and retention.”
Haidary added that the use of multiple payment providers and processes results in lost time and revenue, as well as increased security risks, which together hinder business growth and customer acquisition. The data further shows that these issues intensify with the size of the business and the number of providers used.
“The easiest way to alleviate these business pressures is to shift to a proven all-in-one payments provider like Ezidebit that can accept all payment types – such as online, in-person, direct debit, PayTo, BPAY – in one secure platform,” said Haidary.
“The case for SMBs unifying the back end of payments couldn’t be stronger and our 2025 Payment Pulse offers practical steps to navigate the perceived challenges to consolidation.”