Banking red tape 'robbing' Aussie SMEs

Tyro’s Exploring banking inefficiencies for SMEs report has found that 44 per cent of Australian SMEs, or 880,000 businesses, spend more than three hours every week paying bills and checking, entering and reconciling data, costing each business an average of $7,800 a year.

Tyro, an independent EFTPOS banking institution, also found that:

• 700,000 businesses, or 35 per cent of SMEs, believe their bank could be doing a better job
• One million, or 50 per cent, of SME owner/operators are doing their own bookkeeping
• 400,000, or 20 per cent, of SME owner/operators do not use any form of accounting software.

“Large companies, with more than 200 employees, make up only 0.3 per cent of businesses operating in Australia,” said Tyro CEO Jost Stollmann.

“By comparison, small and medium sized businesses are the creative and innovative heart of the Australian economy, generating more jobs than any other sector. But SMEs are drowning under the burden of inefficient online business banking processes that are robbing them of three hours a week, or 20 days a year."

According to Mr Stollmann, this means that SMEs have to work a 13-month year, or give up the equivalent of four weeks’ annual holiday in order to "compensate for banking inefficiencies".

Mr Stollmann said efficient online banking is critical to the success of SMEs and a large proportion of Australian businesses are seeing their banks letting them down.

“Banks need to try harder to reduce the burden on Australian businesses,” he said.