New research from Vontier (NYSE: VNT), a leading global provider of critical technologies and solutions to connect, manage and scale the mobility ecosystem, shows that payment outages, fragmented systems and ongoing certification requirements create significant operational risk and expense for convenience retailers at a time of elevated costs and economic uncertainty. The findings underscore the need for modern, unified payment platforms that improve reliability and reduce the burden on operators.

Payment disruptions are widespread and often prolonged

As retailers face rising operating expenses and continued pressure on margins, even short disruptions can have an immediate impact on revenue and customer experience. The research, based on a survey of 615 convenience retail operators, found that payment disruptions are both widespread and prolonged.

Eighty‑eight percent of operators experienced at least one outage in the past 12 months, and 36% reported three or more outages. In addition, 86% of outages take longer than 15 minutes to resolve, with 35% lasting one to four hours.

Fragmented payment platforms are a major contributor. Sixty‑eight percent of respondents use multiple payment processors. Half of the operators manage four or more different payment terminal models, increasing the complexity of maintenance, troubleshooting and recovery.

“Payments are central to every transaction in a convenience retail environment,” said Mark Morelli, President and CEO of Vontier. “Through our work with convenience retailers around the world, we’ve seen firsthand that a more unified payment environment reduces complexity, strengthens resilience and creates a foundation for long-term growth. When systems are difficult to maintain or take time to recover, retailers feel the impact immediately. Simplifying payment systems keeps stores running smoothly, minimizes disruptions and allows teams to focus on what matters most – their customers.”

Beyond outages, the research highlights the ongoing cost associated with certification and compliance. Median compliance costs range from $100,000 to $250,000 for fuel retailers annually, rising to as much as $1 million for larger operators. About half of all surveyed operators cited certification fees and required staff training as primary cost drivers.

Unified payment systems help reduce risk and improve stability

The findings show that consolidating or unifying payment systems and vendors can play a key role in improving operational stability and reducing costs. By minimizing fragmentation, operators can improve system reliability, accelerate issue resolution and reduce the costs required to maintain compliance.

Clear ROI is driving near‑term investment

As retailers look to manage costs, maximize uptime and maintain consistent operations for both their customers and staff, Vontier’s research points to a growing willingness to invest in modernization when outcomes are clearly defined.

Eighty‑nine percent of respondents say they would invest in payment modernization within the next 24 months if the return on investment is clearly demonstrated, with 57% indicating they would invest within 12 months.

Unified payment platforms streamline certification processes, reduce coordination across systems and simplify day‑to‑day operations. The cost and operational improvements reinforce how unified payment strategies can deliver a clear and measurable return on investment in a cost‑constrained environment.

About Vontier

Vontier (NYSE: VNT) is a global industrial technology company uniting productivity, automation and multi-energy technologies to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving, more connected mobility ecosystem. Leveraging leading market positions, decades of domain expertise and unparalleled portfolio breadth, Vontier powers the way the world moves – delivering smart, safe and sustainable solutions to our customers and the planet. Vontier has a culture of continuous improvement and innovation worldwide. Additional information about Vontier is available on the Company’s website at www.vontier.com.

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