Member Article

Change on the cards for Belfast’s oldest bar

Lavery’s, Belfast’s oldest family owned bar, has updated its payments systems to appeal to a younger demographic and enhance its customer service to capitalise on its beer garden trade over the summer months.

First bought by the Lavery family in 1918, the building was previously a spirit grocers and stage coach stop for the Belfast to Dublin route before being transformed into a bar. The Lavery family, who owned 30 pubs in Northern Ireland before the First World War, developed the building in to a bar. Further updating it in the 1970s, a Middle Bar and Attic Bar were added on additional floors. Most recently, Lavery’s opened a beer garden at the rear of the property as well as roof top terrace to drive footfall.

Recognising the demands of today’s customer, who is increasingly carrying little or no cash, Lavery’s installed card payment terminals from Retail Merchant Services, the UK & Ireland’s largest independent card processing provider.

With cash now making up just £18.33 of every £100 spent*, Lavery’s manager, Michael Quigley, understood the requirement for plastic payments, while personalising service and creating operational efficiencies:

“Many of our customers simply do not carry cash anymore, so we had to react to this and offer our patrons flexible ways to pay. Not only has this improved our efficiency and service levels at fixed till points – meaning we can serve customers more quickly and reduce waiting times at the bar – but we’ve also been able to maximise our outdoor spaces via mobile GPRS payment machines.”

Since the deployment of the chip and PIN terminals, Lavery’s has also noticed an uplift in average transaction values, as Quigley continued: “We’re surprised that a lot of our competitors still do not accept card payments, we’ve not looked back since we started using the terminals and have found that where customers have the opportunity to pay by card, they often spend more, as they aren’t just limited to the cash that’s in their wallets.”

Gareth Poppleton, Managing Director of Retail Merchant Services, added: “Today’s customers expect quick and seamless payment experiences. This, coupled with consumers moving away from cash, makes it more important than ever for hospitality businesses to be able to offer flexible and fast payment options to ensure high levels of customer service can be maintained, even during busy periods.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gareth Poppleton .