The Adyen small business survey, published on 2 November 2026, finds that 41% of 1,000 US small and medium-sized business decision-makers could cover operating costs for less than a month without sales payouts, according to Adyen. Fresha, the platform Adyen cites for Adyen Capital, appears in Klarna’s newsroom on the same day with a new Klarna payments partnership, as Fintechbits found (Klarna newsroom).

What the Adyen Small Business Survey Shows

Nearly 80% of respondents would pay a fee of about 1% to 1.5% to access earned sales revenue instantly, and 45.2% say payout timing often creates cash-flow problems. If funding were unavailable, 41.2% expect operational cutbacks, potentially including layoffs or delayed wages, 44.2% may delay or cancel growth plans and 13.2% say their business could close.

The pressure is broad. 63.6% reported rising supply costs or shrinking margins, and 40.3% reported lost revenue from weaker consumer spending. Half of respondents, 49.9%, call a loan or extra funding critical or very important to their goals. Asked where they would go, 56.1% named bank loans, more than a third personal funds and nearly 20% a software platform they already use.

Shep Smith, Adyen’s president for North America, said delayed access to revenue means small firms “have to pay a premium to get that money faster or put their own savings on the line.” Adyen published a matching Canadian survey the same day.

Where Fresha Fits

Adyen names Fresha, the salon and spa booking platform, as an example of a platform offering funding through Adyen Capital, and describes a Fresha customer who financed a second location that way. Klarna’s newsroom lists a new Klarna and Fresha partnership on 2 November 2026, bringing flexible consumer payments to Fresha’s businesses. Platforms like Fresha now buy financial products from more than one provider.

Fintechbits analysis

Why the Adyen Small Business Survey Is a Pricing Signal

The 1% to 1.5% figure is the commercial point. If small firms will pay that much to get their own revenue a few days early, instant payouts are a fee line for whoever controls the settlement, and Adyen controls it for every platform on its rails. The Adyen small business survey reads as research, but it also tests what that fee can be.

The model is the one Fintechbits examined in embedded finance after launch, and it fits Adyen’s third-quarter update, in which platforms revenue rose 46%. The caveat is that Censuswide asked about a hypothetical inability to secure funding and did not measure how often firms are refused.

Frequently asked questions

What did the Adyen small business survey find?

Adyen’s survey of 1,000 US SMB decision-makers found 41% could cover costs for less than a month without sales payouts, and nearly 80% would pay about 1% to 1.5% for instant access to revenue.

Who carried out the Adyen small business survey?

Censuswide surveyed the decision-makers between 2 and 9 October 2026, at companies with 1 to 249 employees.

What is Adyen Capital?

Adyen Capital lets platforms built on Adyen offer funding to the businesses they serve, inside software those businesses already use.

What to Watch Next

Watch whether Adyen prices instant payouts for platform merchants near the 1% to 1.5% that Adyen small business survey respondents accepted, and whether Fresha keeps both Adyen Capital and its Klarna deal running side by side.