Payment system failures could cost UK retailers £1.6bn in annual sales, according to new data

The research by Freedom Pay, Dynatrace and Retail Economics shows that the amount of disruptions on day-to-day trading are rising as UK businesses are reporting an average of over five major outages per year, with 61% happening during peak trading periods.

The study also found that 20% of retail and hospitality businesses lack a secure digital backup when systems fail.

Consumer tolerance for delays are also declining, as most consumers will only tolerate up to six minutes of payment disruption before frustration.

The data shows that 22 minutes of wait time is the “absolute limit” before most customers abandon their purchase, but the average outage lasts 84 minutes.

It also found that if a payment system stops working for between seven and 11 minutes, businesses could lose an average of £73m in sales every minute.

This reaches a total loss of £1.17bn by minute 22 of the outage.

Of these businesses, 22% have no backup payment method beyond cash, despite less than 30% of customers carrying cash when visiting retailers or restaurants.

Retail Economics chief executive Richard Lim said: “In today’s hyper-competitive landscape, seamless payment experiences are non-negotiable.

“Our research underscores the critical need for retailers and hospitality businesses to prioritise payment resilience. The financial impact of outages is significant, but the erosion of customer trust and brand loyalty can cause long term damage.

“Investing in robust, fail-safe payment infrastructure isn’t just about mitigating risk; it’s about safeguarding future growth and maintaining a competitive edge.”