Public Study B2C UK 2025

Improving accessibility in payments

Why invest in more inclusive payment experiences at retail and hospitality outlets? To quantify the benefits for consumers and merchants alike, AlixPartners used Potloc to collect survey evidence — and arrived at a £70B reason to act.

Making payment terminals more accessible represents a £70B business opportunity.

The rapid rise of payment technologies — contactless, mobile wallets, self-checkout — has made buying simpler for many. But for the 25% of people in the UK with disabilities, these innovations can fail to deliver the same ease, if not create new barriers.

AlixPartners and Project Nemo partnered with Potloc to survey 350 disabled people and carers to uncover factors behind customer loyalty and avoidance.

Jonathan Hughes

Partner & Managing Director at AlixPartners UK

Yalini Pathy

Director at AlixPartners UK

Elena Stüben

Account Executive at Potloc

Sampling details.

  • 300

    individuals reporting a disability surveyed

  • 50

    carers of individuals reporting a disability surveyed

  • 11

    days in field

  • 15

    data quality controls employed

The Potloc advantage.

  • PencilCircle

    Expert-led surveying.

    Potloc’s market researchers optimized the questionnaire and managed end-to-end sampling complexities to engage the right respondents with a wide range of disabilities.

  • Gear

    Simplified analysis.

    Potloc’s platform made it easy to monitor and qualify responses in real time. Built-in tools helped the team skip manual data analysis and speed up conclusions.

  • Cardholder

    Data to size a £70B opportunity.

    Survey results helped AlixPartners validate hypotheses and quantify the impact of payment accessibility for UK merchants.

Key takeaways.

1

Basic access still falls short.

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More than half of respondents struggle to reach card readers — especially from seated positions — forcing them to ask for help or abandon purchases altogether. Improving simple, physical access remains a foundational step toward inclusion. 
2

Staff support matters, too.

alixpartners_disability-inclusion-in-payments_graph2A
alixpartners_disability-inclusion-in-payments_graph2B
While physical layout barriers play a vital role in improving accessibility, staff presence and training is key. Two-thirds of respondents prefer staffed checkouts, but only 30% report having regular access. 
3

In sum, accessibility influences revenue.

alixpartners_disability-inclusion-in-payments_graph3A
alixpartners_disability-inclusion-in-payments_graph3B

It’s not just about compliance. A majority of respondents said they were likely to visit locations based on how accessible it is to make payments, especially supermarkets and restaurants. Moreover, 71% avoid shops where they know they’ll struggle to complete a purchase.

Potloc’s expertise was extremely valuable in ensuring the survey was well-designed, and adjusting the execution as we went along to capture the right data from the right participants. The platform was very useful for monitoring the responses and then drawing out the key conclusions once the survey was complete.
Jonathan Hughes BW
Jonathan Hughes Partner & Managing Director at Alixpartners
other_logos alixpartners-1-1

Our team.

Elena Stüben
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
elena.stuben@potloc.com

Kickstart your next thought leadership survey.

With unmatched sample quality, time-saving analysis tools, and dedicated research experts at your disposal, Potloc is the go-to survey partner for PE & consulting firms.
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