How often have we heard that cash flow is the lifeblood of businesses? But for many small businesses, getting paid quickly and efficiently, without hidden merchant fees and payments charges, is easier said than done.
At least, it was – until SumUp arrived. When the card reader business started in 2012 it was a fintech minnow disrupting an industry of whales.
Today its mobile devices are to be found everywhere from salons and stores to market stalls.
A huge part of its success has been a laser-sharp focus on identifying small-business pain points and developing simple, efficient and cost-effective solutions, SumUp global marketing lead Corin Camenisch tells Dave Winterlich, host of Dentsu’s Inside Marketing podcast.
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Given that small businesses make up more than 90 per cent of all businesses here, so not just the economy’s backbone but its vital organs too, that’s good news for Ireland Inc.
“SumUp’s vision is a world where everyone can create a thriving business,” says Camenisch. “We do that through tools that allow small businesses to get access to the same level of software and hardware that usually only large players get.”
Today more than four million businesses a year rely on it to get paid, with SumUp processing more than one billion transactions annually, in 36 markets across several continents.
Standing out
While initially SumUp stood out, quite literally, by offering white card readers in a world of black ones, the look and feel of its devices was never, on its own, going to be enough to drive growth.
That’s down to its brand values. “We take trust and transparency very seriously,” says Camenisch. “It’s the foundation of everything we do. As a regulated financial services company we follow very strict industry rules that means your payments are always safe and reliable. We’re also very upfront about our pricing and terms, so there are no surprises.
“The idea is simple really. It’s that merchants can focus on running and growing their business while knowing they’ve got a partner they can rely on and trust.”
Unlike some of its competitors in this space, SumUp levies no rental fee on its devices. Instead merchants pay a low hardware fee upfront, to buy the device.
After that, “You know exactly what your transaction cost is going to be,” she adds. “There’s no strangely calculated formula like a percentage plus an extra fee depending on this or that. It’s very straightforward and transparent. You have the device fee upfront, and then the transaction cost per transaction, the percentage we take.”
Its starter Pay As You Go plan currently offers transaction fees of 1.69 per cent per transaction for payments (either in person or online).
Know your customer
Continuous innovation has been central to its growth and right now artificial intelligence is being integrated both into internal systems, to improve efficiencies, and to customer-facing solutions. “For example, we’re enhancing our customer service through the use of a voice assistant,” she explains.
Both product and service development are research-led, backed by constant monitoring of the target market.
“Some of it comes via surveys, for which you have to set the right incentives. We also have transactional data and usage patterns we can see from product data, as well as a field sales team on the ground that brings back a lot of valuable insights,” says Camenisch.
On top of that are the simple but often illuminating conversations she conducts with the small business owners she meets in her day-to-day life. “It’s always interesting. Just don’t do it during super busy hours, they get annoyed,” she laughs.
Layered on top is regular in-depth market research which, in relation to Ireland, recently unearthed some interesting insights.
Small business sentiment
A SumUp survey conducted among a representative sample of Irish traders, over a one-week period in May this year, found the cost of doing business is of significant concern.
“Rising costs, especially energy costs, was the biggest challenge mentioned by almost 17 per cent of respondents. Right behind that was the cost of supplies,” Camenisch says.
The results also suggested that the cost-of-living crisis hasn’t gone away. “A decrease in customers’ purchasing power was also mentioned, and a third believed their customers spent less over the past holiday season due to the rising cost of living,” she adds.
Some 37 per cent of respondents said they believed their customers have become increasingly price conscious, with people increasing likely to look for discounts and starting to compare prices more.
More than half of Irish businesses were found to have “moderately increased” their prices to deal with the higher cost of living. “Only about one quarter of Irish businesses had made no key changes to their operations beyond rising the prices,” she says.
Despite that, the overall sentiment among businesses here was one of “cautious optimism”, she says. “Almost half of the respondents stated they were confident that their business would improve over the course of 2025.”
The survey suggests Irish businesses could do more to compete than simply pass on price rises.
“It seems like Irish SMEs are lagging a bit behind their European counterparts in terms of innovation. Yes, they did the price increases, but there wasn’t much else going on in terms of introducing new products or services, or diversifying services, in comparison with elsewhere in Europe,” she says.
That’s an opportunity. “Small businesses in Ireland could test and run more things to stay innovative. To take a coffee shop, for example, maybe they could start to host events in the evening. Or, on a much smaller scale, maybe they could introduce a strawberry matcha latte, because it’s the big thing now. It’s about testing new offerings and playing around with them to see what sticks and resonates with their audience.”
Doing that means carving out time, always in short supply for small business owners, she admits.
“They have a lot on their plates and need the bandwidth to do this. That’s where we believe SumUp really helps them to streamline their processes. It also ensures they can look into their data, and that they get their money quickly – a really big thing.”
To hear more from podcast and content series Inside Marketing, click here.
