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Easter bank holiday dining highlights value of fast, reliable payments

Tuesday, March 31, 2026 — 16:03:16 (UTC)

Easter bank holiday dining highlights the value of fast, reliable payments

New Lloyds Merchant Services research shows how payment speed, reliability and system integration help hospitality businesses manage busy long-weekend trading

London, 31 March 2026: Easter weekend is one of the busiest periods in the hospitality calendar, as families, tourists and local diners make the most of the long bank holiday. For restaurants, pubs and cafés, that often means a steady flow of customers from late morning through to evening service across several days. Research from Lloyds Merchant Services suggests that during busy trading periods like these, payment technology plays an increasingly important role in keeping service running smoothly.

Across the UK, 77% of hospitality businesses say contactless is now the most requested way to pay, while 44% report growing demand for mobile wallets. As customer expectations evolve, many operators are investing in faster and more flexible payment systems to support efficient service. Improving transaction speed is becoming a key priority for operators. Lloyds Merchant Services’ hospitality research shows that 42% of hospitality businesses cite slow processing as a concern during busy service periods, rising to 49% among restaurants and 48% among pubs.

For venues welcoming consistent footfall throughout the day, quick and reliable checkout can help maintain a steady flow of service. Around three in 10 hospitality businesses say customers occasionally comment on delays when paying, while around 15% say they hear this feedback regularly. Alongside speed, system integration is becoming an important focus for operators looking to streamline service. One in five hospitality businesses say they want tighter links between payments, booking platforms and loyalty systems to simplify operations during busy trading periods.

Ross Taylor, Managing Director and Head of Payment and Liquidity Sales at Lloyds Merchant Services, said: “Easter weekends are always lively for hospitality businesses, with footfall building steadily throughout the day. When payments are fast, dependable, and easy for staff to use, it takes pressure off the team and helps keep customers happy.” He added: “When your payment tech supports different ways to pay and fits seamlessly into the systems you already use, it takes a real weight off during those peak trading moments.”

For hospitality businesses preparing for peak periods such as Easter, fast and dependable payment systems can help venues maintain service quality while handling increased customer demand. Lloyds Merchant Services supports hospitality businesses across the UK with dependable, scalable payment tools designed to perform during busy trading periods. As part of Lloyds Banking Group, businesses can also benefit from an integrated banking relationship that connects payments, reporting and financial insight, helping venues manage busy trading days 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.

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Source: Company press release.

Categories: Reports and research