Just 11% of UK consumers surveyed feel fully confident when making payments in general, while 59% worry about entering the wrong details when paying by manual bank transfer, according to data from Tink, the open banking and payments platform.

More than a third (37%) of the 2,000 consumers surveyed say they would abandon a payment altogether rather than risk entering the wrong details.

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.  

 Labelling this consumer anxiety about payment methods as the ‘Fear of Messing Up’ (FOMU), Tink highlights the business impact of payment errors – or the ‘Cost of Messing Up’ (COMU) – on sales, staff time and customer relationships.  

43% of UK SMEs surveyed that accept manual transfers say they have faced payment issues caused by customer error in the past year.  Among the SMEs surveyed that have experienced payment issues, 38% lost time tracking down missing funds, while over a quarter (28%) had to dedicate staff solely to resolving the problem.  

Commenting on the findings, 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.”

“The Cost of Messing Up is something SMEs can no longer afford to ignore. Secure, recognised payment methods, including Pay by Bank, significantly reduce that risk, giving consumers confidence and merchants certainty at checkout,” Morrin added.

More than three-quarters (78%) of consumers say they are more likely to complete a payment if they can verify details before confirming while 27% of SMEs surveyed report that they prioritising a ‘low risk of human error’ when selecting payment methods.