Small restaurants continue to dominate the U.S. foodservice industry, where nine out of 10 businesses employ less than 50 people, according to the National Restaurant Association. However, with tighter margins, smaller restaurants have historically tended to invest less in technology, including payments.
That’s changing. Independent restaurants are seeing the value of upgrading their point-of-sale (POS) terminals and developing robust websites with online ordering.
Consumer payment preferences have never been as diverse as they are today. Contactless card payments are now diners’ go-to when paying their check. That said, with Pew Research Center reporting that 91% of adults own a smartphone, mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay are increasingly rivalling cards.
And while cash is no longer king at the table, it’s still popular. For some, cash is a question of convenience. For others, it’s their preferred payment method – with 18% of households either underbanked or completely unbanked, according to the FDIC.
Are restaurants meeting their clientele’s changing payment appetites? When Paysafe recently surveyed small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), we found that restaurants appear strongly focused on offering digital payments without neglecting cash. 92% of eateries accept credit cards and 88% debit cards yet 83% still take cash.
With mobile wallets continuing to grow in popularity, acceptance is lagging cards and even cash, though 78% of restaurants do take payments by Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other wallets.
In 2025 small restaurants certainly acknowledge the broader value of payments. An overwhelming 86% of eateries think delivering a strong payment experience is essential to the overall customer experience, and, as such, business critical.
It’s therefore no surprise that almost all small restaurants (95%) plan to upgrade their payment technology over the next year. A top focus is upgrading their POS systems to enhance contactless and mobile payments, with 54% planning this. While the vast majority of small restaurants accept cards, many still lack the technology for ‘tap and pay’.
The other key payment tech focus of small restaurants is adding mobile POS terminals that servers can bring to diners’ tables. Over half of restaurants (54%) are planning an upgrade that simplifies and improves the transactional experience for not only customers but also staff.
No conversation around payment tech is complete without discussing online ordering. With the COVID-19 pandemic galvanizing restaurants to sell online, today 67% of small restaurants have either a website that they use for online ordering or a presence on food delivery apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub.
The trend of restaurants transforming themselves into omnichannel businesses is only going to gather pace. Of the third of eateries with no online presence, the vast majority (26%) are planning to make the move within a year, and just 7% are not currently considering this.
Of course, not all online presences are equal. Some restaurants may currently only have a simple webpage with a telephone number for ordering, while others offer online ordering with their own checkout and also sell across multiple food delivery apps.
The broad trend for small restaurants with an existing online presence is expansion. Of the restaurants we surveyed, 57% are already selling online but want to ramp things up further – whether that’s integrating their own card-not-present checkout or using food delivery apps more.
The results of shifting online appear very positive. Half (51%) say the main benefit is allowing them to reach more customers, while for a fifth (19%) it’s enabling them to meet changing consumer preferences. A small minority (16%) feel the key advantage of their online offering is allowing them to compete with the large restaurant chains in their area.
Whether it’s integrating an online checkout or focusing on upgrading POS systems, savvy small restaurants understand that payments offer far more value than a simple transaction lasting a few seconds. Complementing the quality of the food served and the overall service, a payment experience that meets and even exceeds expectations can help start a new customer relationship that lasts years – or even a lifetime.
Rob Gatto joined Paysafe, a leading payments platform, in 2022 as the company’s first Chief Revenue Officer. Paysafe’s core purpose is to enable businesses and consumers to connect and transact seamlessly through industry-leading capabilities in payment processing, digital wallet, and online cash solutions. With 29 years of online payment experience, an annualized transactional volume of $152 billion in 2024, Paysafe connects businesses and consumers across 260 payment types in 48 currencies around the world. In his role, Gatto is charged with spearheading Paysafe’s sales function across a range of sectors including U.S. SMBs, gaming, travel, entertainment, and digital assets. A seasoned technology executive, Gatto brings 30+ years’ experience of delivering transformational growth and ‘go to market’ functions for both private and public businesses of all sizes. He has helped build multiple fast-growing businesses that have led to an IPO or sale to technology leaders that include IBM, Oracle, NeuStar and Adobe.
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