The Food & Beverage (F&B) industry is one of the most competitive sectors in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Speed, efficiency, and adaptability directly influence market share – even the smallest delays can translate to lost revenue and dissatisfied consumers. In fact, research found that quick-service restaurants can boost sales by up to one per cent, simply by cutting wait times by seven seconds.
Beyond the need for speed, F&B players are facing mounting pressures from rising operational costs to labor shortages. In Singapore alone, over 3,000 F&B outlets shuttered in 2024 – the most since 2005 – primarily due to escalating operational costs. Yet, more than 3,800 new establishments are opening, highlighting the sector’s constant churn.
For the sector to stabilize, keeping pace with evolving consumer demands while streamlining operations is more critical than ever. Traditional methods often lack the flexibility, speed, and seamless experience that today’s consumers expect – and that businesses need to remain competitive, especially when it comes to payments.
Simply put, F&B operators must adopt integrated solutions that enhance both operational efficiency and customer experience. They need technology built for agility.
Agility as the cornerstone of success
Many businesses today still have their operations scattered across multiple systems, creating inefficiencies that drain time, money, and consumer trust. Take payments, for instance, a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of business operations. When payments data is siloed – be it across different platforms (online, at the counter, mobile app) or the payments value chain – businesses struggle to streamline operations, resulting in inefficiencies.
A unified system that consolidates all in-person and online touchpoints while seamlessly integrating payments can help eliminate pain points and optimise workflows across the business. The result? A connected front- and back-of-house environment that offers a unified view of the business and real-time insights that sharpen decision-making. This not only simplifies operations but also gives businesses a competitive edge in responding to shifts in consumer behaviour through a single, integrated view of their customers.
Eats365, a restaurant POS provider, has started integrating payments into its platform offering. Its 365pay solution helps merchants centralize their operations and provides a clearer view of transactions across all channels. With a connected pipeline across payment methods, order channels, and consumer touchpoints, merchants can simplify administrative burdens such as tracking payment costs and reconciliation, enabling faster reporting.
This 360-degree view of transactions can provide businesses richer insights into consumer spending, enabling more personalized engagement and smarter resource allocation across inventory, staffing, service, and ultimately, as they scale across markets.
Scaling with confidence
Expansion in the F&B sector today means more than opening in new locations – it requires the ability to adapt to local consumer preferences and offer a consistent brand experience.
A centralized system simplifies this by allowing businesses to introduce local payment methods in new markets without the complexity of multiple integrations. HEYTEA, the popular Chinese tea brand, leveraged Adyen’s unified commerce solutions to support its international expansion, tapping on the provider’s global acquiring network for faster, more reliable transactions.
This means that the brand now has the ability to accept localized payment methods like WeChat Pay on its mobile app, so that consumers can pay in a way they are most familiar with while enjoying the convenience of ordering ahead and skipping queues.
Just like HEYTEA, businesses that invest in an integrated backend that supports expansion across markets, can have peace of mind when entering new regions or opening new sales channels.
Building lasting relationships with loyalty rewards
At the same time, with new sales channels and businesses entering different regions, it is also necessary to consider their approach to establishing and maintaining relationships with customers. According to Adyen’s 2025 Retail Report, 71% of Singapore consumers are more likely to shop with brands that give them discounts through loyalty programs. While running these across multiple payment channels, method,s and currencies has historically meant friction, it remains a proven driver of repeat visits and purchases.
Payment-linked loyalty technology, where rewards are linked to payment activity, allows businesses to recognize returning consumers – even if they aren’t formally enrolled in loyalty programs. This allows businesses to trigger personalized discounts or recommendations using payment data captured during card acquisition and transaction processing.
For example, when a customer makes a purchase on a website or in-app store, the system can attempt to identify them and determine whether they’re already enrolled in your loyalty program. From there, you can either prompt them to register or check if they qualify for a reward – all before completing the transaction.
Serving up the future of F&B tech
F&B businesses that can adapt quickly, scale smartly, and deliver frictionless, localized experiences at every touchpoint will continue to thrive as the sector evolves. In this new era, unified, data-driven strategies aren’t just a competitive edge; they’re the foundation for sustainable growth and customer trust.
From streamlining operations to unlocking deeper insights and establishing customer loyalty, the shift toward smarter, connected systems is now essential. Businesses that choose to invest in future-ready payment and loyalty infrastructure today will be the ones leading tomorrow.
The next chapter of F&B success hinges on how readily businesses embrace innovation, simplify the customer journey, and build more agile, customer-centric operations where every transaction fuels loyalty, insight and sustainable growth.
Ben Wong is General Manager, Southeast Asia and Hong Kong at Adyen.
I’m a Payments Guy (Geek) who had a mid-life crisis and moved from tech to sales.
I’m also General Manager of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong at Adyen, where I lead and oversee the commercial operations in the region. I started my career in payments in a technical role circa 2013, where I helped businesses across retail, ecommerce, travel and hospitality industries in their payment ambitions.
The payments industry has evolved since then and so have the needs of our customers. What remains constant: The commitment Adyen has in helping businesses boost revenue and optimise costs through payments. Today, my team and I have successfully driven business growth for companies like Mandai Wildlife Group, Love, Bonito, Singapore Airlines, just to name a few.
Other experiences include working in technical and operational roles in Worldpay, OCBC Bank, and LTA.
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Featured image: Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash