Frustrated that many durian desserts in Singapore failed to live up to the promised taste, lifelong durian lover Zenobia Loh decided to take matters into her own hands, creating desserts that let the fruit speak for itself.
Taking a leap of faith during the pandemic, she founded The Durian Bakery with a clear mission: to craft durian desserts that are authentic, honest and uncompromising in flavour.
Since then, her business has grown steadily, today delivering tens of thousands of cakes, pastries, and desserts across Singapore. However, like many small businesses, The Durian Bakery faced its own share of struggles with managing and safeguarding payments. It addresses these challenges through its partnership with HitPay.
SMEhorizon speaks with founder Zenobia Loh on The Durian Bakery’s growth and how finding the right payments partner has helped make settlements faster, more visible, and more secure. Aditya Haripurkar, CEO and Founder of HitPay also weighs in on the hidden threats to revenue faced by SMEs like The Durian Bakery, and what safeguards can be applied to achieve financial resilience.
Seeking solutions to prickly security issues
With 95% of their sales coming from online channels, together with their same-day delivery promise, payments are at the heart of The Durian Bakery’s operations. The sheer volume of sales meant that their former platform and methods were now untenable.
“Before switching, we were dealing with high processing fees, slow settlement times that could stretch beyond a week, and very limited visibility into failed or abandoned transactions,” recalls Loh. “Cash flow was a real concern. When settlements are delayed, it affects how confidently you can plan inventory, marketing and manpower.
“On top of that, manual payment checks were time-consuming and risky. We had cases where unverified payments slipped through, which directly impacted our margins. All of this added friction to daily operations and took focus away from growing the business.”
Screening for unverified payments may seem like a minor, routine administrative task, but it is one that can quietly erode a business’s margins. “If a bakery loses a sale to fraud, they don’t just lose the revenue; they lose the cost of premium ingredients, the labor spent baking, and the delivery fees,” Haripurkar explains. “Fraud isn’t just a line item; it’s a drain on your entire supply chain.”
“Another major risk is the hidden tax of manual payment reconciliation,” he continues. “Relying on staff to check bank apps during a lunch rush creates a dangerous blind spot. They might fall for a fake screenshot (a false negative) or, just as worse, delay a real customer while trying to verify a payment (a false positive).
“This operational drag creates a lose-lose scenario: businesses either lose money to a scammer or lose a future customer to a bad experience.”
The problems posed by these scams is exacerbated by the availability of AI and deepfakes to create synthetic identities and automated scams at scale. Haripurkar says that “one of the most immediate threats to daily operations is the surge in fake payment receipts. According to recent industry reports, fraudulent QR code payments have risen by as much as 60% in parts of the region.
“Fraudsters now use AI-powered tools to generate perfect, manipulated screenshots or “success” screens that look identical to real bank confirmations. Because these scams exploit a business owner’s trust during a busy shift rather than a computer bug, they bypass almost all traditional security filters.”
Another risk faced by SMEs is system fragility. “Many SMEs rely on a single payment method or provider,” elaborates Haripurkar.
“If that one system goes down, sales stop instantly. True revenue protection means building resilience so that small businesses can keep moving even when one part of the payment ecosystem is disrupted.
“The common thread across these risks is that revenue leakage often comes from internal systems and processes rather than obvious failures. Building visibility and resilience across all payment and operational touchpoints is critical to safeguarding growth.”
Keeping sales smooth and secure
Loh explains that in seeking a new payment platform, her business wanted something more local flexible and transparent. “In evaluating vendors, we focused on a few practical things,” she says.
“Would this reduce checkout friction for customers? Would we get our money faster? Could our team clearly see and track payment status without extra manual work? And importantly, would there be real customer support if something went wrong?”
Hitpay’s support for local payment methods, its fast settlements and single platform also helped it gain an edge over other vendors. And the results have been significant.
“The impact was very clear and very quick,” shares Loh. “After enabling local payment methods through HitPay, we saw higher checkout completion rates almost immediately. Customers found it easier and faster to pay, which reduced drop-offs.
Operationally, the biggest improvements were faster settlements, now typically T+1 or T+2 instead of over a week, and lower processing fees, which directly improved our margins.
“We also gained much better visibility. We can now track failed or cancelled transactions and follow up where needed, something we couldn’t do before. We can also verify payments instantly, which has helped prevent costly mistakes. Previously, a single unverified payment cost us close to S$2,000. That risk has been largely removed.”
These benefits helped to ease the inevitable transition period when onboarding the new system. “Once the team saw how much time it saved and how much clearer payment tracking became, adoption happened naturally,” says Loh. “The system fits into our existing workflow rather than forcing us to redesign how we operate.”
Delivering sweet success to all SMEs
Loh’s experience with the Durian Bakery has taught her not to underestimate small leaks in your payment process. “When margins are tight, one fraudulent transaction or delayed payout can have an outsized impact,” she advises.
“Look for solutions that reduce manual work, give you real-time visibility, and help you verify payments automatically, rather than relying on screenshots or manual checks. Safeguarding revenue does not have to mean adding complexity.
“In our experience, the right payment platform actually simplifies operations, improves cash flow, and gives you peace of mind so you can focus on serving customers and growing your business.”
Haripurkar agrees that financial resilience should not be adding more work but about gaining better control. “Small operators can achieve this by prioritizing real-time visibility,” he explains.
“SMEs should be able to see exactly what is coming in and going out at any second. This clarity allows them to spot cash flow gaps early and plan for expenses without the end-of-month panic.
“We also recommend simplifying the way you collect money. Using digital invoices and direct payment links reduces the time you spend chasing payments. The faster the money hits your account, the more resilient one’s business becomes.
“It is also vital to maintain a modest operational buffer, a reserve of funds to cover the unexpected, whether it’s a disputed charge or a sudden logistics delay.
“The goal is to use tools that act as a silent partner. Small businesses don’t need a complex accounting department; they just need simple reporting that tracks average payment times and recurring costs.
“By automating the background noise of payments, business owners can stop acting like fraud detectives and get back to what they do best, growing their business.”
