A new study from Tink, an open banking and payments platform, reveals that many UK consumers feel anxious about making mistakes when paying by manual bank transfer. This lack of confidence is driving abandoned transactions and undermining trust in the small businesses they buy from – while simple human errors continue to cause failed payments.
Tink refers to this consumer anxiety about some payment methods as the ‘Fear of Messing Up’ (FOMU). Meanwhile, the ‘Cost of Messing Up’ (COMU) refers to the business impact of payment errors on sales, staff time and customer relationships.
Just 11% of UK consumers surveyed feel totally confident when making payments in general, while 59% worry about entering the wrong details when paying by manual bank transfer. Their fears about manual bank transfers are justified: 43% of UK SMEs surveyed that accept manual transfers say they’ve faced payment issues caused by customer error in the past year.
FOMU impacts how people pay. More than a third (37%) of consumers surveyed say they would abandon a payment altogether rather than risk entering the wrong details – and 7% of consumers admit they’ve mistyped payment details, with funds failing to reach the right account.
For customers who have messed up a payment, the fallout can be both frustrating and time-consuming. Almost three in 10 (29%) had to contact their bank to trace missing funds, while 23% said the experience left them less confident about making future payments.
For SMEs, these customer errors create COMU. Among those SMEs surveyed that have experienced payment issues, 38% lost time tracking down missing funds, while over 28% had to dedicate staff solely to resolving the problem.
Tink’s research also highlights an opportunity: 78% of consumers say they’re more likely to complete a payment if they can verify details before confirming. SMEs surveyed are taking note: 27% now prioritize a “low risk of human error” when selecting payment methods.
Ian Morrin, head of payments at Tink, said,
“During one of the busiest shopping periods of the year, relying on manual bank transfers means all the pressure is on customers to get every detail right. When they don’t, it’s the UK’s small businesses that pay the price in lost sales, wasted time and eroded trust. COMU is something SMEs can no longer afford to ignore. Secure, recognized payment methods, including Pay by Bank, significantly reduce that risk, giving consumers confidence and merchants certainty at checkout.”