There is a revolution taking place in how customers pay businesses. To keep up with this technology and to profit from it, SMEs have to invest. With little trust in traditional lenders, alternative finance has a key role to play.

Payment is a basic law of business: to generate sales, customers have to be able to pay, and in today’s business environment, they have to be able to do it how they want. It’s no good having the best products or services if they can’t be paid for. It has been a long time since cash was king – now all sorts of payment platforms are in use and, as we know, technology does not stand still.

One of the newest payment technologies on the block is wearable technology. Wearable gadgets that track health and fitness are well known, and smart badges are revolutionising business networking and conference management. Payment is going the same way – just look at the Apple Watch. There’s also tech like the Disney MagicBand, a closed-loop wearable device for payments within a Disney facility. It’s about the convenience of not having to pull your device out of your pocket.

Customers are spending more and more money in these ways and, of course, businesses don’t want to miss out. However, setting up such payment systems or overhauling existing frameworks come at a cost. This is where the need for finance and services such as peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding and invoice finance come in.

As various studies have repeatedly demonstrated, access to traditional sources of finance for SMEs remains a challenge. This is why the alternative finance sector has become a mainstream provider and why it will play an important part in helping small businesses fund expansion, such as investment in new payment systems.

To find out more about A&T Business Associates services, contact us on 01903 602211 or info@atbusinessassociates.co.uk.