Survey: 24% of Small Businesses Plan to Accept Crypto This Year

According to a survey conducted by Visa, almost a quarter of small businesses across nine countries around the world plan to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment in 2022, as crypto holders increasingly want to use their assets to shop.

One in Four SMBs Plans to Accept Crypto as Payment

Almost one in four small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) that participated in the sixth edition of Visa’s global Back to Business study indicated its intention to accept payments in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The survey consisted of 2,250 small businesses owners in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Canada, Brazil, Singapore and the US.

In the same survey, 73 percent of respondents indicated that accepting new forms of digital payment options will be a key factor affecting business growth in 2022. Of all respondents in the study, 82 percent said they planned to implement a form of digital payment option this year.

Visa found that more than 30 percent of SMBs in the UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore and Brazil planned to offer cryptos as a payment option in the coming months. By contrast, 19 percent of SMBs in the US and a mere eight percent in Canada expected to do so.

The survey also included a consumer section where 1,500 adults across nine markets participated. More than half of respondents in this section expected to go completely cashless within the next 10 years, while 41 percent indicated that customers had abandoned a physical purchase where digital payment options were not available.

Accepting Crypto Not for Everyone

Although accepting crypto payments has become more widespread and not limited to SMBs, not all businesses are convinced that the option is for them. In an exciting reveal last week, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky confirmed that the home-stay site is working to accept crypto in 2022, in response to huge demand from its customer base.

Last week, Mozilla Foundation, the non-profit organisation behind open-source web browser Firefox, announced it would be accepting crypto donations to “keep the Web open and free”. Only days later the foundation reversed its decision, citing concerns regarding “cryptocurrency’s environmental impact”.