Hospitality’s shift to self-service is reshaping payment infrastructure
Castles Technology, leader in Android payment acceptance solutions, has published a new white paper examining how the rapid growth of self-service technology across hospitality is reshaping the payment infrastructure that underpins guest experiences.
Titled The New POS Advantage: Transforming Guest Experiences Across Hospitality, the white paper explores how point-of-sale systems across the sector are undergoing a fundamental shift, moving away from fixed terminals and legacy electronic cash register setups towards flexible, Android-based platforms that support ordering, payment and operational workflows anywhere in the venue.
The transformation is already having a measurable commercial impact. According to research cited in the report, customers spend up to 20% more when using self-service technology, while more than 75,000 self-ordering kiosks were delivered to the hospitality industry in 2025 alone. The hospitality POS terminals market is projected to reach USD 8.3bn by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 9.9%, according to industry forecasts referenced in the white paper. Yet many operators remain reliant on proprietary systems that cannot integrate with modern payment methods, loyalty platforms or cloud-based management tools.
The report identifies three structural forces accelerating the need for platform change. Consumer payment preferences are evolving rapidly, with over 70% of diners now preferring cashless transactions and three in four travellers relying on digital wallets for trips. Regulatory pressure is intensifying, with PCI DSS v4 requirements now fully in force and PSD2 continuing to shape digital payment flows, while operators face growing expectations around security, interoperability and digital customer journeys. Operational demands are also increasing, with hospitality businesses under growing pressure to connect payments with inventory management, loyalty programmes and back-office reporting within a single, integrated ecosystem.
The research also highlights the specific commercial impact of payment infrastructure decisions across different hospitality segments. In quick service environments, self-service kiosks and mobile ordering are lifting average order values while reducing queue times and improving throughput without requiring additional staffing. In full-service restaurants, mobile POS solutions are enabling table-side ordering and payment, supporting higher table turnover and stronger guest engagement. In hotels and resorts, connected POS systems are linking dining, amenities and room charging within a single guest profile, supporting both loyalty and revenue growth.
The analysis also highlights the growing convergence between hospitality, self-service and unattended commerce, as operators increasingly deploy kiosks, mobile ordering and self-checkout experiences that remove traditional points of friction from the guest journey entirely.
Castles Technology serves each of these environments today, with a portfolio spanning countertop, mobile and unattended Android payment devices deployed across quick service, full-service restaurant and hotel settings worldwide.
Jean-Philippe Niedergang, CEO EMEA, Pacific and LATAM at Castles Technology, said: “The POS is no longer just a device that processes a transaction at the end of a meal or a stay. It is the operational foundation of a modern hospitality business, connecting the front of house to the back office, the guest to the brand, and the moment of payment to a wider picture of loyalty and value. Hospitality has undergone a remarkable transformation in how it thinks about the guest experience, and payment infrastructure must keep pace. This white paper is designed to help operators understand what that transition demands, and how to make the right technology choices for the long term.”
The white paper concludes with a practical investment framework for hospitality businesses evaluating their next POS deployment or platform upgrade, covering Android-based infrastructure, integration capabilities, mobility and unattended functionality, embedded security and compliance, and support for emerging payment methods.