95% of UK SMEs turn to AI to tackle hidden payment losses
UK SMEs are losing an average of £159,500 per year due to failed payments, abandoned checkouts and payment-related customer churn – creating a ‘hidden revenue gap’ worth hundreds of millions across the UK economy.
According to new independent research by Access PaySuite, which surveyed 250 UK SME finance and payments decision-makers, the scale of payment-related revenue loss is significant:
- 3.4% of all payment transactions fail on average, with 55.8% never recovered
- Nearly 50% have lost customers to checkout abandonment
- Almost one in 10 companies lose more than £1 million annually due to payment-related issues
- More than a quarter have seen customers switch to competitors due to payment friction
- Over 70% spend between five and 20 hours per week managing payment failures and related administration
- Fewer than four in ten businesses have full visibility into the wider revenue impact
Despite the sheer size of the problem, many businesses lack a clear, consolidated view of where and why revenue is being lost. Instead, finance teams are often forced to download spreadsheets, manually interrogate data, and piece together insights across fragmented systems.
It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that 95% of UK businesses say they are evaluating, planning to implement, or interested in AI-driven systems to reduce payment-related revenue leakage.
In response to growing demand for clearer oversight, Access PaySuite has launched a new unified AI embedded payments platform, designed to give businesses greater visibility into payment performance and revenue risk.
Rather than requiring teams to manipulate raw data, the platform enables businesses to leverage the built in AI to manage their payments, cutting through data to deliver immediate insights and business value to teams.
By bringing multiple payment methods into a unified environment, Access PaySuite helps businesses reduce friction, improve customer choice, and minimise avoidable revenue loss.
Jon Reynolds, Head of Product at Access PaySuite, commented: “Businesses are leaking revenue at a scale many don’t fully appreciate. When more than half of failed transactions are never recovered, the cumulative financial impact quickly becomes significant.
“But failure rates are only part of the story. The bigger issue is visibility, since many finance teams simply don’t have a clear, consolidated view of where and why revenue is being lost.
“That’s what our new platform is designed to address. It gives businesses clarity and control, enabling them to identify problems in real time – rather than weeks later – and enables them to make informed decisions before losses escalate.”
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