Consumers Prefer Cards Over Cash by 5-1 Margin
Small Businesses Use Multiple Cards to Enjoy Wide Variety of Benefits
Washington, DC — The Small Business Payments Alliance (SBPA) issued its latest report on how small businesses utilize credit card to drive sales and growth. The report was released as the group hosted its ninth fly-in for members from around the country. In meetings on Capitol Hill, SBPA members highlighted the findings from the report and warned members against imposing federal mandates that would threaten the electronic payments system that is so critical to their businesses.
“America’s small businesses depend on credit cards for far more than processing transactions — they rely on them to finance inventory, manage cash flow, and serve customers who overwhelmingly prefer electronic payments,” said Peter Kauffmann, SBPA spokesperson. “This report makes clear that the Durbin-Marshall credit card mandates would put those benefits at risk by disrupting the secure electronic payments system that millions of small businesses rely on every day. Congress should protect — not undermine — the tools that help Main Street businesses grow and succeed.”
During meetings on Capitol Hill, SBPA members told lawmakers that the Durbin-Marshall credit card mandates would benefit the nation’s largest retailers at the expense of Main Street businesses. They warned that small businesses rely on today’s secure electronic payments system for fraud protection, reliable transactions, fast access to funds, detailed record keeping, and the flexibility to serve customers in-store, online, and on mobile devices. Business owners urged Congress to reject new federal mandates, warning they would weaken payment security, reduce consumer choice, and create unnecessary risks for the small businesses that depend on the current system to compete, grow, and serve their customers.
SBPA SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD REPORT 2026
Small Businesses Rely on Cards to Make and Receive Payments
Credit cards help fulfill small business needs. Small businesses often struggle with uneven cash flow and rely on financing to make payments. As such, credit cards play an essential role in helping small business owners smooth their cash flow and pay their suppliers quickly.
Accepting electronic payments helps drive sales for small businesses. Consumers overwhelmingly prefer electronic payments over cash for in-person payments and make a large majority of payments using credit and debit cards. Accepting consumers’ preferred payment choices helps small businesses increase sales revenue and attract new customers.
Small businesses value the benefits their business credit cards provide. Roughly half of business credit cards held by small business owners offer cashback. Many small businesses use multiple cards and enjoy a wide variety of benefits.
Cash costs more than credit cards for small businesses. The cost associated with handling cash payments can run from 4.7% to 15% for small businesses — far higher than the cost of processing credit cards. The number of small businesses who do business exclusively with debit and credit cards is on the rise because of the costs and hassles off doing business in cash — notably, the risk of theft and robberies, mistakes in counting, and hours spent handling, counting and transporting cash.