How to choose a payment processor for your restaurant
Paying for a meal should be quick and easy. Learn what businesses in the restaurant and food industry need to look for when choosing a payment processor, including fees, features, and reliability.
Choosing the right payment processor is a critical factor for success in the food and restaurant business, where speed, flexibility, and seamless customer experience are essential. Learn what to look for when choosing a restaurant payment processor, including fees, features, and reliability.
What is payment processing?
From the customer’s perspective, paying for their meal should be a straightforward process, whether in person or online. However, under the hood, the process is more complex.
First, the payment is initiated either online or in person using a card reader.
Then, the card details are verified by the parties involved in processing the transaction, including the restaurant’s card processor, the card network (such as Mastercard or Visa), and the issuing bank. The issuing bank will check the available funds and carry out fraud checks to validate the transaction.
The bank then authenticates the transaction via an approval. If it doesn’t pass the required checks, the bank will decline the transaction.
For approved transactions, the issuing bank will then start the settlement process by transferring funds from the cardholder's account to the merchant's account.
What is a payment processor?
A payment processor facilitates electronic payment transactions on behalf of businesses. The payment processor acts as an intermediary between the restaurant and customer, initiating the steps outlined above with the card networks and issuing banks.
How restaurant payment solutions work with your business
Payment processing companies offer an array of services to restaurants beyond the pure processing of payments. Payment providers allow restaurants to accept a wide range of payment methods, and many also offer integrations with existing point-of-sale (POS) systems and support online and remote payments. Additional benefits may include improved cash flow by speeding up settlement and deeper insights into payment preferences through reporting and analytics capabilities.
How to choose a restaurant payment processor
Restaurateurs should consider several key factors when choosing a payment processor:
Types of supported payment methods
Customers prefer to pay in different ways, so restaurants should aim to accept a wide variety of payment methods to accommodate these preferences. This is particularly important for food takeout and delivery orders, where customers may fail to complete their orders if they don’t see their preferred payment method.
Paysafe accepts all major payment types, such as credit and debit cards, digital wallets, payment platforms like Google Pay or Apple Pay, cryptocurrencies, and many local payment methods.
Fees
Payment processors charge fees for their services, which vary depending on the provider. Fees may be set as a flat percentage of the transaction value or based on a markup of the card network rate. Providers often also charge monthly fees to cover services such as statements, reporting, or customer support. Additional fees may apply in specific scenarios, such as chargebacks, international currency conversions, or for the initial setup with a new provider.
Paysafe offers competitive, transparent fees for restaurants and food operators of all types and sizes. Learn more about our pricing models.
Chargeback prevention
Chargebacks, where a payment is returned to the customer for reasons such as fraud or a disputed transaction, can be crippling for a small business. Some payment providers offer chargeback prevention services, enabling businesses to recover chargeback costs and related expenses.
Discover more about Paysafe’s chargeback prevention program for merchants.
Fraud prevention and security
Electronic payment systems are prime targets for fraudulent payments, so it’s important that payment processors offer a comprehensive range of fraud detection and security tools. Payment systems should comply with Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards, which are developed by industry operators and use security controls to reduce card fraud. Local security regulations may also apply depending on the jurisdiction.
Paysafe adheres to all industry standards for secure payments, providing restaurateurs and food operators with peace of mind.
Ability to integrate with existing systems
Payment systems should integrate with existing systems and workflows, such as inventory and point-of-sale. Payment processing for restaurants should also include restaurant-specific requirements, such as tipping, split bills, or managing a tab. Integrations reduce the risk of errors, as well as the time spent on manually reconciling systems.
Settlement speed
Cash flow is critical for restaurants, which are typically operating on tight margins without large reserves of liquidity. Payment providers can help to improve cash flow by ensuring that funds are transferred to the merchant in a timely manner, reducing reliance on credit.
Usability and interface
The payment interface needs to be intuitive and user-friendly, both at the front-end for customers making payments, and at the backend for restaurant staff to be able to handle features such as transaction processing, reconciliation, and reporting.
Customer support
Customer support availability is an important requirement when things go wrong. Customer support should be available throughout the restaurant's operating hours, and reachable via email, phone, or online chat in the restaurant's primary language.
Paysafe offers round-the-clock support via multiple channels and in the native language of all supported countries.
Reviews and testimonials
When choosing a restaurant payment solution, it can be helpful to seek out reviews and testimonials from similar businesses, which can provide insights into service quality, settlement speed, and customer support responsiveness.
Read testimonials from merchants who rely on Paysafe to run their business.
Discover Paysafe’s payment processing for restaurants
Paysafe provides intuitive and seamless payment processing solutions that can help boost efficiency and profitability for restaurants and food outlets. Learn more about transforming your restaurant payment processing with Paysafe.
How to choose a payment processor for your restaurant FAQs
What payment systems do restaurants use?
Depending on the type of restaurant, payment systems may include POS terminals for in-person payments or online gateways for takeout or delivery orders. Payment processors should support both systems.
How much does a payment processor charge?
Payment processor fees can vary depending on whether they charge flat fees or a markup from the network provider. Monthly fees, covering ancillary services such as reporting or customer support, may also apply, along with situational charges such as chargebacks.