John Tait, Global Managing Director of Payments at Transaction Network Services (TNS) discusses the rapid evolution of cashless, contactless and unattended payments
To begin with, could you share details of your career history and how you came to be in your current role?
I’ve spent more than two decades working at the intersection of technology, payments and customer experience, helping organizations modernize how they move money. My career began in financial services, where I focused on digital transformation and global expansion strategies. Over time, I became increasingly drawn to the role payments play in shaping consumer journeys, especially in fast-moving sectors like food and beverage.
Joining Transaction Network Services (TNS) gave me the opportunity to lead in a truly global environment, supporting multiple industries with secure, scalable and innovative solutions. Today, as Global Managing Director of Payments, I work with partners across more than 50 countries to enable fast, seamless and future-ready payment experiences.
How are payments in quick service restaurants evolving to meet consumer demand for speed and convenience?
Quick service restaurants (QSRs) operate in an environment where every second counts, so payment flows have become a key driver of customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. We’re seeing a shift from traditional point-of-sale transactions to fully integrated, omnichannel journeys that include in-app ordering, kiosks, drive-thru unattended payments and pay-at-table options.
Consumers expect instant, contactless experiences without needing to reach for a wallet. In our research, self-service is already significant, with 23 percent in Australia and close to one in five in both the UK and the US saying unattended is their most common way to pay. One in three consumers also cite being forced to create an account as their biggest checkout frustration, and 22 percent point to too many steps in the payment value chain.
TNS Complete Commerce, our full-stack payment and network solution incorporating TNS’ Accept, Connect and Orchestrate product portfolios, enables QSRs to support multiple payment journeys through a single platform. Intelligent routing helps reduce latency and keeps queues moving while delivering consistent speed and convenience across every touchpoint.
What trends are you seeing in cashless and contactless payments in convenience retail?
In convenience retail, speed and ease of payment are now considered non-negotiable, which has accelerated the shift toward cashless and contactless
transactions. Consumers increasingly expect quick tap-and-go payments using cards, mobile wallets and wearable devices, with many stores now reporting that cash usage is in continuous decline.
Cards still dominate across markets, from 56 percent in the UK to 70 percent in the US and 66 percent in Australia, with cash steady at around 15 percent to 16 percent. Mobile wallet usage is higher in the UK at 19 percent and 14 percent in Australia, compared with ten percent in the US, which argues for tuning wallet support by market. From a business perspective, real-time payment routing and intelligent retries are helping to boost approval rates and helping to reduce abandoned purchases.
Ultimately, convenience retailers are moving toward always-on, digitally connected payment environments where checkout becomes almost invisible.
How are vending and self-service solutions changing the way consumers pay for food and beverages?
Vending and self-service environments are evolving into fully connected commerce touchpoints where consumers expect the same seamless payment experience, they would receive at a staffed counter. This shift has driven demand for unattended payment solutions that support contactless, mobile and QR-based transactions. Unattended is now mainstream behavior, with around one in five respondents in the UK and US selecting it as their most common way to pay, rising to 23 percent in Australia.
What role does payment orchestration play in creating seamless experiences for F&B customers?
Payment orchestration is a critical component in delivering seamless experiences across the food and beverage sector, especially as customers move between mobile ordering, kiosks, drive-thru and in-store checkout. TNS’ Complete Commerce approach brings orchestration together with acceptance and connectivity to create a unified payments strategy. The most common pain points we see are consistent across markets. A third of consumers dislike being forced to create an account, 22 percent cite too many steps, and 21 percent say their preferred option is missing. Orchestration helps by adding methods quickly, simplifying flows and routing for higher success.
With platforms such as TNSPay Orchestration, payments can be routed to the best-performing acquirer in real time, designed to improve transaction success rates and reduce latency. By removing complexity in the background, payment orchestration helps F&B businesses provide fast, secure and consistent experiences across every touchpoint.
How are small specialty retailers using payments technology to compete with larger chains?
Smaller specialty retailers are increasingly using modern payment technology to enhance customer experience and compete effectively with larger chains. By leveraging cloud-based platforms, they can access enterprise-grade capabilities such as contactless acceptance, recurring billing, loyalty integration and real-time routing. Through scalable solutions like TNS’ Complete Commerce approach, which brings together acceptance, connectivity and orchestration, these retailers can deploy advanced payment features without heavy infrastructure investment.
Behavior varies by age, but even among 55-plus there is measurable self-service use, while younger shoppers lean more toward online and unattended. Nearly 59 percent of consumers also value fast in-store Wi-Fi, supporting richer digital journeys. Many smaller retailers are also using transaction insights to understand customer behavior and tailor offers accordingly. As a result, payments are becoming a strategic differentiator rather than a purely operational necessity.
What are the biggest challenges for F&B businesses when adopting new payment methods?
One of the biggest challenges is balancing innovation with operational stability. F&B businesses often operate across multiple channels and in high-volume environments, so introducing new payment methods must not disrupt service or slow down transactions. Integration complexity is another hurdle, particularly when legacy systems are involved. Ensuring security and compliance with standards such as PCI DSS remains essential, especially as fraud threats evolve.
Consumer expectations are clear. One in three wants guest checkout, 22 percent want fewer steps, and 21 percent want their preferred method available. Cash also remains material at roughly 15 percent to 16 percent, so inclusive design still matters. This is where managed payment platforms can help by reducing the technical burden while providing quick access to new capabilities.
How do rising consumer expectations influence payment strategies in restaurants and convenience stores?
Consumers increasingly expect payment to be effortless, instant and aligned with how they already live and shop. This is driving restaurants and convenience stores to prioritize flexible, digital-first strategies that support tap-to-pay, mobile wallets, QR codes and in-app checkouts. The focus is no longer just on transaction acceptance, but on delivering a connected experience that links payment with loyalty, personalized offers and digital receipts.
Preferences differ by demographic. Staffed checkout remains the preference for 57 percent of the 55-plus group, while younger shoppers report higher use of online and unattended. Wallet adoption also varies by market, reaching 19 percent in the UK and 14 percent in Australia versus ten percent in the US. Quick approval times and reduced payment friction are critical to customer satisfaction and repeat visits. As expectations continue to rise, F&B operators are adopting more agile payment infrastructures that can evolve quickly as new behaviors emerge.
How are PSPs and acquirers adapting their infrastructure to support fast, flexible payments in food retail?
Payment service providers (PSPs) and acquirers are investing heavily in infrastructure that can support low-latency, high-approval payment flows at scale. In food retail, where transaction volumes are high and speed is crucial, they are increasingly adopting cloud-native architectures to improve agility and reduce time-to-market for new services. Many are partnering with orchestration platforms to enable intelligent routing, automatic failover and real-time transaction optimization.
There is also a growing emphasis on security, with enhanced encryption, tokenization and stronger fraud prevention tools being embedded into the payment journey. Given that 43 percent of consumers reported a checkout issue in the last 12 months, modernization must prioritize resilience alongside features. Provider ecosystems that can add methods quickly also address the 21 percent who say their preferred option is missing. By modernizing their infrastructure, PSPs and acquirers are equipped to meet the sector’s need for reliable, fast and flexible payments.
Are there any innovations in payments that you think will redefine the F&B customer experience?
Several emerging technologies are set to reshape how consumers interact with payments in food and beverage environments. Artificial intelligence is already streamlining fraud detection and dynamic routing, and we expect it to play a larger role in predicting preferred payment methods and personalizing checkout flows. Biometric authentication, such as face or palm-based payments, is likely to grow as consumers continue to seek fast and secure experiences.
We are also seeing increased interest in embedded payments within loyalty apps and connected devices, allowing transactions to occur almost invisibly. Our research shows adoption accelerates when innovation reduces steps and keeps protection visible. Market context matters too. Wallet usage is higher in the UK and Australia than in the US, so we localize experiences while maintaining global consistency. These innovations are moving the industry closer to truly frictionless commerce.
From your perspective, what’s the future of frictionless payments in food and beverage environments?
The future of frictionless payments lies in experiences that feel almost invisible to the customer while being powered by intelligent infrastructure behind the scenes. As consumers move fluidly between physical, mobile and unattended channels, F&B operators will rely on platforms that deliver secure, instant and consistent transactions at every touchpoint. Payment orchestration, real-time data and artificial intelligence will continue to drive innovative routing and personalized journeys. The strongest signal from our data is that reliability and simplicity build trust. When payments work, customers do not notice them. When they fail, they remember. At TNS, our Complete Commerce approach is designed to support this evolution by unifying acceptance, connectivity and orchestration in a single, future-ready framework.
Ultimately, I believe the leaders in this space will be those who make payment disappear into the overall experience, creating journeys that are seamless, intuitive and effortless.
John Tait
John Tait is TNS’ Global Managing Director for its Payments Market business. TNS is a global leader in providing full-stack, modern and secure payment and network solutions. As a leading provider of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solutions with more than 30 years’ experience, TNS has been offering managed service solutions to more than 1400 organizations in over 50 countries. TNS’ comprehensive portfolio spans from cutting-edge unattended and in-store payment terminals, online solutions to secure global network connectivity and seamless payment processing through its cloud native payment orchestration platform. With TNS’ portfolio of industry leading services, customers can work to reduce the complexities of fragmented payments and connectivity with just one trusted managed service partner.