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From ‘Shall we split it?’ to pay at the table: How Valentine’s Day dining Is changing

Wednesday, February 11, 2026 — 17:03:08 (UTC)

From ‘Shall We Split It?’ to Paying at the Table: How Valentine’s Day Dining Is Changing

Latest research from Lloyds Merchant Services reveals the changing ways people settle the bill, and what busy restaurant nights demand behind the scenes

London, February 2026: One in five couples now ask to split the bill when dining out, reflecting changing expectations around how people pay when in a relationship. That’s according to the latest research from Lloyds Merchant Services, which highlights important trends that are pertinent to hospitality businesses this Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day remains one of the busiest nights of the year for restaurants, with venues running at capacity and service under pressure from first sitting to last orders. From how quickly customers can pay to whether they split the bill or settle at the table, those final moments of the meal are becoming a bigger part of how smoothly the dining out experience runs.

Around 22% of hospitality businesses in the UK say customers are now keen to split the bill, a statistic that rises to 50% in cities such as Brighton and Belfast. That’s according to a recent whitepaper from Lloyds, From Till to Table: Smarter Payments Driving Innovation in Hospitality.

Paying at the table is also increasingly part of how people want to wrap up a meal. Around 22% of hospitality businesses say customers ask to settle without leaving their seat - by QR code, card reader or app - rising to 26% among restaurants. In cities like Sheffield (57%) and Cardiff (43%), those numbers are even higher.

Contactless underpins almost all of this and has become the default for many diners. It’s now the most requested way to pay across UK hospitality, with 77% of businesses saying customers ask for it. Demand is high in every setting - pubs and cafés at 81%, restaurants at 80% - whether people are tapping a card, phone or smartwatch.

These are behaviours many venues now need to accommodate, particularly on high-pressure nights when groups and couples want to settle up with as little fuss as possible.

Ross Taylor, Managing Director, Head of Payment and Liquidity Sales, Lloyds Merchant Services, said: “On Valentine’s Day, couples will want their bill sorted quickly so romantic moments continue without interruption. That mirrors what our research reveals: customers increasingly favour fast, familiar ways to pay. When payment feels effortless and almost invisible, it helps restaurants and hospitality businesses keep the experience smooth from start to finish.”

It's clear that payments are an existing pain point for customers, with around three in 10 hospitality businesses saying guests occasionally mention delays at the till, while around 15% hear complaints regularly. Importantly for hospitality businesses preparing for Valentine’s Day, it is restaurants that are the most exposed, with 14% reporting frequent comments, compared with 9% of hotels and 5% of pubs.

Lloyds Merchant Services supports hospitality businesses with dependable, scalable payment tools, from integrated point-of-sale systems to app-based loyalty features and reporting services that help manage costs. By making transactions quicker and simpler, Lloyds helps hospitality businesses focus on what matters most: serving their guests and growing with confidence.

The full report, From Till to Table: Smarter Payments Driving Innovation in Hospitality, is available at: www.lloydsbank.com/business/resource-centre/insight/payments-driving-innovation-in-hospitality.html.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Lloyds Banking Group is a UK based financial services group. As part of the Group, Lloyds Merchant Services offers leading end-to-end payment acceptance solutions. We help businesses from all parts of the UK, and across all different sectors and sizes, giving them the support they need to take payments online, in store, or over the phone at any time.  

For more information on how we help businesses to receive payments please visit: www.lloydsbank.com/cardnet 

This whitepaper is based on research conducted by Censuswide among a sample of 250 UK owners and managers of hospitality businesses, including restaurants, food halls, cafés, pubs and pop-ups. All respondents were aged 18 and over. Fieldwork was carried out between 18 August and 26 August 2025. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.

*Lloyds Bank Market Intelligence (LBMI) uses aggregated and anonymised transaction data from Lloyds Banking Group’s 28 million customers to deliver actionable insights and support business decision making. These insights are limited to the Bank’s retail market share of personal current accounts and/or personal credit cards, and do not reflect all spending within the United Kingdom. Whilst Lloyds Bank has exercised reasonable care in preparing these insights, no liability is accepted by Lloyds Bank for any loss or damage caused to any person relying on any statement or omission. This is for information only and should not be relied upon as offering advice for any set of circumstances. Specific advice should always be sought in each instance.

Contact details

For further information, please contact: Ellen Gillespie ellen@skyparlour.com

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Source: Company press release.

Categories: Reports and research