Best Payment Solutions for Restaurants in the UK and Ireland
What counts as a restaurant payment solution
It's the hardware and software you use to take card and contactless payments - at the table, at the counter, online and on self-service kiosks. Every sale goes through it. The fees come straight off your margin, and when it stops working you can't take money.
Types of restaurant payment solutions
Integrated POS payments
This is the right choice for most restaurants. When payment processing is built into the POS system, each card payment is tied to its order. Table tabs close without anyone matching receipts to bills, and the end-of-day report has everything in it.
In practice:
- Staff don't type the amount into a second device
- Reconciliation at close happens on its own
- Tables turn faster because the bill is paid as soon as the order is confirmed
- The system splits bills, so nobody's doing sums on the back of a docket
Standalone card machines
A card machine that isn't connected to the POS. Plenty of smaller places use them. Staff key in the amount by hand, and the payment ends up in one record while the order sits in another. Closing up takes longer, and one mistyped number means the totals don't match.
Online payment processing
If you have your own ordering website or app, payment is taken at checkout. You want a processor that connects to your online ordering system, so orders placed in person and online show up in the same reports.
Self-service kiosk payments
Self-service kiosks need a payment terminal built in. If the kiosk software talks to the POS, kiosk payments land in the same system as counter orders and there's nothing extra to reconcile.
What payment processing costs
In the UK, card-present transactions usually cost between 1.2% and 2.5% each. Online costs a bit more because of fraud risk - around 1.5% to 3%.
Your rate depends on:
- How much you process each month. More volume, lower rate
- Card mix - business and international cards cost more to process
- Whether you're on a blended rate or interchange-plus
- Which processor you use
Small differences add up. A restaurant taking £50,000 a month on cards pays an extra £250 a month for every extra 0.5% - that's £3,000 a year. Worth negotiating.
What to look for in a restaurant payment solution
POS integration first. If payments don't connect to your POS, someone ends up reconciling by hand every night. For any restaurant doing real volume, this matters more than anything else here.
The processor should take Visa, Mastercard and Amex, plus contactless with Apple Pay and Google Pay, as standard.
Then the hardware. A terminal that drops offline in the middle of Friday dinner service is a genuine problem, so ask whether it can keep taking payments without a connection.
Look past the headline rate. Chargebacks, refunds, monthly minimums and PCI compliance fees can add a lot to it. Get the full fee schedule before you sign anything.
And speed. Chip and PIN should finish in under 5 seconds, contactless in under 2. Slow terminals mean longer queues and slower table turns.
Restaurant payment solutions compared
| Solution | Suited to | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Flipdish | Restaurants wanting payments integrated with POS, online, and kiosks | Requires Flipdish POS |
| Stripe | Online ordering integrations | Not purpose-built for in-restaurant use |
| Square | Simple setups without POS integration needs | Limited multi-location management |
| Adyen | Large chains with complex requirements | Minimum volume thresholds |
| WorldPay | Legacy setups | Older technology, higher fees common |
| SumUp | Very small, low-volume operations | No meaningful POS integration |
Payments across multiple locations
Take a group with 10 locations, each taking payments through the POS, online ordering and kiosks. Finance needs to see payment data for every channel at every site. With one system covering all three, like Flipdish, finance reconciles in one place and operations can see when one location's numbers look off.
A separate setup at each site means separate reports, separate reconciliation and more chances for the figures not to line up.
Flipdish payments
Payment processing comes built into the Flipdish restaurant POS platform. Online orders, in-person POS sales and kiosk payments go through one system, and the reports cover all your locations.
If you run a restaurant in the UK or Ireland and want payments tied into ordering, the kitchen and reporting, Flipdish is the strongest choice.