Over half of UK retail and hospitality managers report experiencing verbal abuse or confrontational behaviour from customers during payment failures.

London, United Kingdom, April 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Now in its second year, a new study released today reveals that payment system failures place up to £1.7 billion in annual retail and hospitality sales at risk across the UK.

Conducted by FreedomPay in partnership with Retail Economics, the research exposes the ongoing vulnerabilities at the heart of UK commerce. It draws on two nationally representative surveys of 2,000 UK consumers and 200 retail and hospitality managers, conducted in February 2026, quantifying the frequency, speed and compounding impact of payment disruptions.

UK businesses report an average of just over five (5.2) major payment disruptions per year, with 72% concentrated during peak trading windows when financial and reputational exposure is highest. Retail risks the most - accounting for £1.2 Billion of total at-risk revenue. Hospitality and leisure contribute a further £494 million.

The study highlights a critical blind spot. While UK businesses recognise the threat of payment disruption, many underestimate how rapidly revenue is exposed once systems fail. Actual revenue at risk builds far more rapidly in the early minutes of an outage than businesses perceive, creating a significant gap between expectation and reality.

The research also reveals the human cost of payment failure on frontline staff. Over half (52%) of UK retail and hospitality managers report experiencing verbal abuse or confrontational behaviour from customers during payment failures — a direct consequence of systems going down at the moments consumers are least willing to wait. With fewer than half of businesses having alternative network solutions in place and only 40% offering offline card processing, staff are left without the tools to resolve situations quickly, prolonging frustration and increasing the likelihood of confrontation. The consequences reach beyond individual incidents, threatening staff wellbeing, morale and retention in ways that extend well beyond the revenue lost during the outage itself.

"The UK’s relationship with payment resilience is unique in that businesses are beginning to truly understand," says Chris Kronenthal, President, FreedomPay. "Our research confirms that retailers and hospitality operators across the country are worried about more than just lost sales, it’s the lost trust that remains their biggest focus. As it should be in a market that is increasingly impacted by reputation. Payment failures are key confirmations of credibility, over and above being an operational mistake. Investing in resilience is the best defence to keep that customer loyalty.”

Key findings from the study include:

Younger consumers are least prepared and most frustrated by disruption: Compared to 33% of over-45s, only 18% of under-45s consumers say they always carry cash when visiting shops and venues. This means younger shoppers are least likely to have an alternative when digital payments fail. As the most likely age group to share negative experiences online, these consumers are the most capable of turning local incidents into negative reputational events, creating compounding risk for businesses.
Resilience gaps leave staff exposed: As noted above, over half of UK retail and hospitality managers have experienced verbal abuse during payment failures. Yet the infrastructure to prevent these situations remains insufficient — only 40% of businesses offer offline card processing and fewer than half have alternative network solutions in place, leaving frontline teams without the means to resolve disruptions quickly and repeatedly exposed when systems fail.
Consumer patience running thin: Most consumers say they can tolerate payment delays of up to 7 minutes before frustration sets in, with 13 minutes the maximum wait time before abandonment begins. However, the average UK outage lasts over ten times longer at 79 minutes, far longer than consumers are willing to wait. This resulted in one in five (19%) customers walking away from their intended purchase, translating directly into revenue leakage through abandonment or diversion to competitors.
Time is money for businesses: Restoring payment systems within the first five minutes can prevent more than 90% of potential losses, with the research showing that between minutes 8 and 13 of a disruption, industry losses can exceed £50 million per minute as customer abandonment accelerates. This makes the speed of detection and recovery crucial.
Cash is becoming a less reliable backup: Fewer consumers now carry cash as a fallback than a year ago, leaving businesses more exposed when payment systems fail. The primary concern around moving away from cash is the risk of being unable to pay, with 72% of consumers citing this as their main concern during a disruption, highlighting the growing need for more resilient payment infrastructure.

“When payment systems fail, the impact is immediate and unforgiving,” states Richard Lim, CEO, Retail Economics. “The data shows that customer tolerance is measured in minutes, not hours, with abandonment accelerating quickly once delays extend beyond that point. But the impact goes beyond the lost transaction, placing pressure on frontline staff and eroding customer trust. As digital dependency increases and fallback options become more limited, resilience is becoming a core capability, not just an operational safeguard.”

Download the full report here.

About FreedomPay

FreedomPay is the global leader in Next Level Commerce™—transforming the way businesses power payments and experiences across the world. More than a payment solution, FreedomPay is a world-class independent payment gateway engineered to simplify complexity, break down the barriers of legacy systems, and revolutionize every point of interaction—whether in-store, online, or mobile. Chosen by the leading brands across retail, hospitality, sports and entertainment, food service, healthcare and higher education, FreedomPay delivers technology strength, integration breadth, and deep expertise in global payments innovation.

As one of the first solutions in North America validated by the PCI Security Standards Council for P2PE, FreedomPay sets the gold standard for payment security, trust, and performance. With a unified technology stack, lightning-fast APIs, and integrated solutions across payments, FreedomPay gives businesses total peace of mind plus the freedom to choose any hardware provider. Move faster, act smarter, and lead markets—not chase them. www.freedompay.com

About Retail Economics

Retail Economics is an independent economics research consultancy focused on B2B thought leadership in the consumer and retail industry. We analyse the complex retail economic landscape and draw out actionable insight for our clients. Leveraging our own proprietary retail data and applying rigorous economic analysis, we transform information into points of action.

Retail Economics provides unbiased research and analysis on the key economic and social drivers behind the retail sector, helping to inform critical business decisions, giving you a competitive edge through deeper insights.

Burson for FreedomPay
freedompayUK@bursonglobal.com

This item of content is a press release from a third party provider who make no warranties or representations in connection with this content and therefore PA can make no warranties in respect of its use.

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