Industry News

12/01/2010 - Canadian merchants in the business-to-business sector may have reason to expect an uptick in payment processing in the coming months, as businesses are increasingly optimistic about their future performance and are reporting fewer difficulties accessing credit, according to a recent survey.

The latest report from Bank of Canada found that, while current sales remain weak, 70 percent of businesses expect improved sales performance in the next 12 months, compared to 21 percent that expect slowed sales and 8 percent that expect sales to remain flat.

In another indication of improved business health, the majority of respondents expect to increase their employment levels in the next 12 months - 57 percent plan to increase hiring, 14 percent plan to make additional cuts, and 32 percent plan to keep staff levels the same.

Furthermore, companies are likely to resume their use of business credit cards as credit conditions have moved from stabilization to improvement in the past three months, according to the majority of respondents.

As businesses continue to resume their spending and investing, experts advise business-to-business companies in particular to make sure their merchant services include credit and debit card processing, to meet the purchasing needs of as many clients as possible.