How SMEs can thrive in a shifting global economy

Exactly.com Payment Expert Madara Antanaviča reveals practical strategies for e-commerce businesses and SMEs to thrive amidst economic uncertainty, while others struggle to adapt. 

 

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are the quiet backbone of the UK economy. According to 2024 government figures, SMEs make up more than 99% of the UK’s private business sector. They are central to job creation and innovation, yet they’re also more exposed to economic shocks than their larger counterparts.

 

As trade dynamics shift, tariffs tighten and volatility increases, one thing is clear: international growth won’t come from brute scale alone. SMEs don’t need a Fortune 500 setup—but they do need clear thinking. The strongest advantage in uncertain times? A payment strategy that prioritises flexibility, visibility, and real support.

 

Let’s look at how.

 

 

Choose partners who reduce complexity

Cross-border payments are essential for many SMEs. But the mechanics of getting paid internationally still feel complex: compliance checks, local payment methods, shifting exchange rates, and fast-changing regulations.

 

That’s where payment service providers (PSPs) step in. An ideal payment partner will offer more than just card acquiring (the process of collecting card payments from customers and their banks). They bring together the infrastructure that supports card payments such as Visa and Mastercard, along with local alternative payment methods, mobile wallets and more, as well as the back-end systems that unify it all.

 

Providers with local (country-specific) acquiring capabilities can also make a big difference here, often improving approval rates, speeding up settlements, and reducing transaction fees in key markets.

 

And with Open Banking continuing to grow, there’s another lever to pull: API-driven, bank-to-bank payments that are a viable alternative to credit and debit cards. This payment method may not be the default yet, but it’s already helping some merchants reduce friction and cut costs in specific markets and product niches. By side-stepping conventional payment flows, Open Banking could eventually see global acquirers and card networks going out of fashion.

 

 

Understand how fees really work

For global merchants, maintaining cash flow predictability is key. Hidden costs, foreign exchange (FX) markups, and other unforeseen details—like currency conversion charges on cross-border transactions—can quickly erode profit margins. That’s why it’s essential to partner with a payment provider who prioritises transparency and provides clear visibility across every payment leg.

 

Finally, unpredictable transaction fees can also quietly kill momentum. That’s why pricing transparency isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a survival tool.

 

The main thing to understand is that every card transaction includes three main components: 

• The acquirer fee: a negotiable merchant service charge
• The card scheme fee: set by Visa/Mastercard etc
• The interchange fee: set by the issuing bank/card network 

The combination of these fees varies depending on the region, currency, risk level, and transaction method. The costs also shift depending on the type of card used—debit card or credit card—and whether it is issued by Visa, Mastercard or Amex, for example.

 

Finally, fees are commonly expressed as two distinct structures: blended pricing and interchange++.

 

Blended pricing

Blended pricing combines all the separate fee components into a single, simplified rate. This can help with forecasting, especially for businesses that need consistency. But it’s not one-size-fits-all. Some models apply a flat rate; others use tiered or card-specific bands that change with volume.

 

The trade-off? Merchants gain predictability, but might pay slightly more than the actual processing cost. In these cases, the payment provider absorbs the risk of variance.

 

For SMEs prioritising cash flow forecasting and straightforward accounting, blended pricing can be a practical fit.

 

Interchange Plus (Plus)

With Interchange++ (sometimes written as Interchange Plus Plus), every fee component is visible. The merchant sees what goes to the card network, what the bank takes, and what goes to the payment provider to cover infrastructure costs and earnings. That level of clarity can help business owners adjust strategy by market or channel.

 

But visibility comes with variability. For businesses processing a high proportion of international or card-not-present transactions, the fluctuation may outweigh the benefit.

 

There’s no universal winner—just the model that best fits the business and its goals.

 

 

Support matters more than ever

Although automated support has gained traction, it shouldn’t be the only avenue for SMEs to access guidance from their payment service provider, especially when handling international transactions or scaling across borders. 

 

Smaller teams often lack dedicated resources and in-house expertise to deal with complex payment scenarios, so the right kind of provider can make a huge difference, not just through software, but by offering clear communication channels and individually tailored support. 

 

Clear guidance on compliance, risk, and cost structures shouldn’t be reserved for enterprise clients either. It’s what helps SMEs respond faster, test markets with less risk, and navigate unexpected regulation shifts. Clarity, not just tooling, is what helps SMEs move with confidence, especially in unpredictable markets.

 

 

Make the payment experience part of retention

Good infrastructure clears the path. Good experience keeps people walking it.

 

UX in payments isn’t just about speed—it’s about reducing churn and creating trust. One-click payments, mobile-first design, and local checkout options all play a role in increasing conversion and subscription stability.

 

The goal is to serve both new and returning customers. Guest shoppers often account for a large portion of purchases, but registered users tend to convert at higher rates and experience less friction at checkout. The trick? Encourage sign-up earlier in the journey, without turning the process into an obstacle course.

 

Overly complicated flows, spammy upsells, or multi-step checkouts remain a common—and costly—misstep.

 

 

Final thought: don’t go it alone

SMEs don’t need to mirror enterprise-scale payment stacks to compete globally. But they do need partners who offer transparency, local insight, and clarity when it counts.

 

That’s what turns unpredictability into opportunity. With the right support in place, even a small business can scale across borders: resilient, informed, and ready to grow. 

 

---

 

Madara Antanaviča is a Payment Expert at Exactly.com

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and ipuwadol