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Small business owners with a dedicated account manager at their credit card issuer, including business owners pessimistic about the year ahead, had higher overall satisfaction with the issuer, according to a recent study from J.D. Power.

The J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Small Business Credit Card Satisfaction Study found a growing sense of anxiety among small businesses, creating challenges for card issuers looking for ways to support customers in an uncertain economic environment, J.D. Power said in a statement.

“It’s been a tough few years for small business owners, with 65 percent saying that inflation is having a major or severe effect on their business and 51 percent still suffering through supply chain challenges,” John Cabell, managing director of payments intelligence at J.D. Power, said in the statement. “Accordingly, the small business outlook for 2023 is down significantly and many businesses are looking to their credit card issuers for help. This is a real moment of truth for card issuers that currently have an opportunity to position themselves as a valuable source of support and guidance for small business customers through a combination of proactive outreach, rewards promotions and personalized account management.”

The 2022 study, conducted in August and September, included responses from 3,164 small businesses with approximate annual revenue between $10,000 and $10 million. The study measured small businesses’ satisfaction with credit card benefits and services, channel activities, credit card management, credit card terms, key moments, and rewards.

The study found that overall satisfaction among small business credit card customers was 851 on a 1,000-point scale, down one point from last year. Survey respondents reported lower sales growth compared to last year, and their outlook for the broad economy and their business declined significantly, with 65 percent of small business owners saying inflation had a severe or major effect on their business.

Businesses experiencing severe or major effects from inflation had a significantly lower satisfaction with rewards programs (836) compared to those businesses with little or no inflationary effects (862). Satisfaction among cardholders most affected by inflation was also significantly lower for rewards earned per dollar spent and for the ability to completely maximize rewards with most frequent purchases, J.D. Power said.

The study found that 25 percent of small business owners do not expect to increase business-related spending on their credit cards during the next 12 months, down from 29 percent a year ago. Survey respondents expecting to spend more than $5,000 per month declined to 46 percent from 50 percent a year ago. But the percentage of small businesses that have revolving debt has increased from 39 percent in 2021 to 44 percent in 2022.

Having a dedicated account manager at their credit card issuer increased overall customer satisfaction by 35 points, J.D. Power said. Among business owners who said they were worse off this year compared to a year ago, having a dedicated account manager was associated with a 77-point increase in customer satisfaction.

American Express ranked highest in customer satisfaction for a second year, with a score of 862. Chase was second with a score of 857, and Bank of America was third, scoring 855.