As we celebrate Black Business Month this August, it’s more important than ever to highlight how modern payment systems can empower historically under‑resourced entrepreneurs across our state.
Arizona’s economy is powered by small businesses – nearly 80 percent of all businesses in the state fall into this category. From nonprofits to creative firms, these enterprises fuel job growth, serve communities, and drive innovation. Yet many are being held back by something as fundamental as how they get paid.
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During National Small Business Week, I joined a group of entrepreneurs from across the country on Capitol Hill as part of the Intuit Small Business Council. Our focus: advocating for the modernization of the U.S. payments system. We met with elected leaders and staff from Arizona’s congressional delegation, to push for change.
The reality is that many small businesses and nonprofits in Arizona still get paid by paper check. While often viewed as the most cost-effective method, checks are also among the slowest, causing unnecessary cash flow delays. This lag puts pressure on operations and limits the ability of businesses to pay employees, vendors, or reinvest in growth.
Small business owners like myself are engines for the national economy, driving
entrepreneurial innovation and creating countless jobs. Yet we’re consistently held back by the archaic payment infrastructure that forces us to work around long processing times and high transaction fees. Upwards of 82 percent of all small business failures are related to cashflow problems.
And small businesses are often left with few affordable payment options. Zelle isn’t always available for business accounts (and Zelle has set limit issues), wire transfers carry hefty fees, and even a one percent transaction charge can cut into already slim margins.
While fraud prevention is a valid and important concern in modernizing payments, advancements in financial technology show it’s possible to enhance security while also expanding access and promoting healthy competition. Business owners aren’t asking for risky solutions. They’re asking for fair, fast, and low-cost access to the money they’ve earned.
Modernizing payments would create more opportunity, particularly for historically under-resourced entrepreneurs and organizations. Reducing transaction costs and increasing access to real-time payments would allow more people to launch and sustain businesses in Arizona, especially in sectors like nonprofit services, where margins are tight and every dollar matters.
We’ve seen the disparities firsthand. In my work with the State of Black Arizona (SBAZ), we’ve published data in the 2025 State of Black Business Update showing persistent gaps in access to capital, digital tools, and payment infrastructure for Black entrepreneurs. These are real hurdles that can determine whether a business survives or shuts down.
Through our SBAZ IMPACT stories, we also highlight the innovation and resilience of Black-owned businesses that, despite these barriers, are thriving. Modernizing how these businesses get paid is a concrete way to match their effort with meaningful support.
Of course, any move toward modernization must be done thoughtfully. Faster payments come with legitimate concerns, including increased fraud risk and the difficulty of reversing errors in real time. Smaller banks and business owners may face challenges in upgrading systems or adapting to new technologies. And while digital tools can offer greater efficiency, they can also bring new costs such as monthly platform fees, per-transaction charges, or pressure to purchase updated software. For small businesses already navigating complex financial systems, this could feel like trading one set of barriers for another.
The key is not simply speed. It’s access, transparency, and equity. Any legislation or innovation must prioritize competition, lower costs, and ensure that small business owners aren’t priced out of participation. Solutions must be designed with input from those most impacted and rolled out in a way that supports the people who make up the backbone of our economy.
Policymakers have a chance to act, especially during Black Business Month, when we honor the contributions of Arizona’s Black entrepreneurs. Bringing competition and innovation to the payments space would strengthen the backbone of Arizona’s economy. Small business owners do the work. It’s time they get paid efficiently and fairly.
Author: Renowned speaker and nonprofit leader, Teniqua Broughton is CEO of Phoenix-based VerveSimone Consulting. Teniqua and her team partner with organizations nationwide to hone their leadership strategies and equity capacity building to achieve their organizational goals. She is the author of My Leader, My Self: Self-Aware Leadership for Harnessing Super Powers in Yourself and Others.
