How should a restaurant accept payments? Cash, cards, mobile payments and choosing an acquirer (2026)

Accepting payments looks like a minor detail, but it touches fees, settlement speed and your customers' checkout experience. Most restaurants offer several payment methods at once, so the point isn't "which one to use" but comparing rates and terms clearly when you choose an acquiring or payment service. Below is a rundown of the common payment methods, plus what to watch for when choosing a provider.

This is a general, practical overview. Fee rates, settlement days and plan terms vary by provider and by your store's circumstances; for the actual terms, rely on the quote and contract from each payment or acquiring service provider.

What payment methods do restaurants commonly use?

• Cash: no processing fee, but there are the costs of making change, safekeeping and reconciliation.
• Credit cards (in-person card payment): widely accepted by customers; requires an acquiring service and a card terminal, and charges a processing fee.
• Mobile payments and e-payments: such as the various Pay apps and stored-value cards; adoption keeps rising, with fee rates and settlement terms that differ from one to another.
• QR Code transfer / collection: low barrier, suited to small stores or takeout, but watch the reconciliation.

Most stores combine two or three to balance customer habits and cost. The point is to work out each method's fees and reconciliation in advance.

Choosing an acquiring or payment service — what should you compare?

• Fee rate: rates differ by card type and payment method, so estimate on the mix you actually use when comparing.
• Settlement days: how soon funds are paid out directly affects cash flow.
• Terminal or equipment cost: purchase, lease or provided free, and whether there's a monthly fee or minimum spend.
• Lock-in and termination terms: contract length and the cost of early termination.
• Integration and reconciliation: whether it integrates with your POS or accounting flow to reduce manual reconciliation.

A common mistake is looking only at "the lowest fee rate" while overlooking the terminal's monthly fee, the lock-in or the settlement days. Only when you factor these in together do you get the real cost.

How should a newly opened small store set up payments?

A newly opened small store doesn't need everything at once. Most stores first make sure they can take cash and at least one electronic payment (card or mobile payment), then expand after observing customers' actual payment habits. If your average ticket is higher, or your customers prefer cards, acquiring is worth preparing early; if you're mostly takeout and small amounts, mobile payments and QR collection have a lower barrier. The point is to first cover the payment methods of your main customer base, then adjust to the real situation — no need to shoulder excessive monthly fees and lock-in just to be comprehensive.

Finding a payment or acquiring service

First, to be clear about roles: Eatsy is a restaurant reservation system, not a payment or acquiring provider. If what you need is card acquiring, mobile payments or payment integration, that is an external service, which you can have matched to your needs through Eatsy Concierge. For credit-card acquiring specifically, Eatsy's partner Global Payments (環匯亞太) is one of the few foreign-owned card-acquiring banks in Taiwan, offering contactless card acceptance and options such as the "TapPay 收款吧" app, and we can share our partnering experience directly; for mobile payments or other payment needs, we introduce a match based on your situation. Right now matching and consultation are free, with no lock-in. The actual fee rates, plans and contracts are still for you and the provider to confirm; before choosing, we suggest you compare fee rates, settlement days, terminal costs and lock-in terms, then evaluate for yourself.