Mastercard and SumUp have announced a new partnership aimed at increasing the number of locations accepting electronic payments across 27 European countries.
Over the next five years, Mastercard and SumUp will bring payment card acceptance to several million micro, small and medium-sized businesses across Europe, including in Portugal.
This partnership will allow, above all, micro and small businesses, through SumUp's card readers and digital devices, to accept electronic payments, including via smartphones, watches or digital bracelets. “This is an important partnership we are undertaking with SumUp, an innovative company and a leading player in providing payment systems for small businesses. The scale and scope of this partnership will certainly advance the acceptance of electronic payments in Portugal and Europe to a new level. SMEs are the backbone of the European economy and this initiative will allow them to better serve their customers, offering them a real choice in terms of payment methods. This is undoubtedly a partnership to be repeated in the future ,” says Jason Lane, Mastercard's Executive Vice President for European Market Development.
In many European countries, including Portugal, cash continues to have a significant weight in transactions, particularly in low-value transactions made in stores. Furthermore, it has been shown that cash remains the least efficient and least secure means of payment. The hidden cost of handling cash remains high, as demonstrated by a recent study published by the Bank of Portugal, which revealed that cash was more expensive for merchants than debit card payments, representing 62% of total costs, while debit card payments accounted for only 42%. These hidden costs associated with cash include transportation, security, counting, reconciliation, and fraud with counterfeit notes – factors that clearly highlight some of the disadvantages of this payment method.
Mastercard and SumUp are committed to supporting SMEs, and especially small merchants, in overcoming these challenges and making payments safer, easier, and more convenient through a simple and effective solution.
Accepting electronic payments can also bring added benefits. For example, it has been shown that offering electronic payments increases sales and has a direct impact on profit. Studies by SumUp show that small businesses can grow up to 60% in sales simply by accepting card payments, and Mastercard data indicates that, on average, new card payment acceptors see average transactions increase between 10% and 15%, since consumers are not limited to the cash they have in their wallets. This is, in fact, one of the relevant aspects for small shop owners, especially in rural areas, where access to an ATM or cash may not be very easy. On the other hand, electronic payments provide an immediate increase in cash flow, since payment is automatically guaranteed, eliminating the need to chase after unpaid or outstanding invoices.
