Intelligent SME.tech Issue 25 | Page 30

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Pranav Sood , Interim Global Head of Marketing at Workiva while also improving conversion at checkout . For example , iDEAL , a payment solution based on open banking , represents 70 % market share in the Netherlands and is used for more than 50 million purchases per month , thus , making it the most widely used payment method for consumers . Not having these in place can be the difference between closing the deal or not .

Barriers to going global

Some barriers are more than just about meeting preferences though . One-fifth of businesses recognise that regulations , such as those relating to money laundering when sending payments across borders , will stand as a barrier to securing the talent they need . Roughly the same percentage ( 22 %) believe that not having the right technology is the key blocker . A large percentage ( 44 %) of UK SMEs understand that having the right infrastructure in place will help them to grow more quickly . SME decision-makers also believe that access to the best digital infrastructure would help them serve customers better ( 43 %), attract and improve workforce diversity ( 39 %), hire more technical positions quicker ( 39 %) and help with regional supply chain issues ( 36 %).

SMEs also need to recognise the gaps that exist in their businesses today . According to our research , 70 % of SMEs admit that they need to modernise their digital systems before they can proceed with expansion projects .

Following technology , SMEs looking to expand across borders also identified crossborder payments and FX ( 33 %), marketing ( 32 %) and HR capabilities as the most crucial missing parts in their current expansion plans . Shockingly , only 2 % of UK and US SMEs claim to have reached the adequate level of infrastructure to hire globally .

For two-thirds ( 66 %) of respondents across the UK and US , reluctance to recruit new staff abroad comes from fears over the significant payment and paperwork challenges that they feel unprepared to face . In particular , with their current systems in place 60 % feel that managing payroll in various currencies is timeconsuming and can leave the business losing out on foreign exchange rates .