As UK shoppers gear up to spend nearly £100 billion over the festive period, Matt Edwards, founder of Fast Secure Payments, is cautioning retail businesses to review the stability of their payment systems. Each year, an estimated £1.6 billion is lost due to payment failures during peak shopping seasons.
Matt spent 36 years with Halifax and Lloyds Bank, regularly earning national recognition for his work in sales development and training. He later established Fast Secure Payments with the intention of helping smaller retail and hospitality businesses take payments without hassle, steep charges or confusing contractual commitments.
“After decades in banking, I wanted to do something that genuinely made a difference for small businesses and to build something alongside my family,” said Matt. “We’re a family business, and we believe in keeping things straightforward and transparent. For many small retailers, every transaction matters, especially at Christmas.”
Figures from Retail Week and The FinTech Times show that payment system failures cost UK retail and hospitality businesses around £1.6 billion in lost sales each year. The average outage lasts 84 minutes, while most customers will not wait longer than six minutes before giving up and abandoning a purchase.
With the average UK adult spending nearly £600 on Christmas-related items last year, even a brief system failure could mean thousands of pounds in lost sales for individual businesses. A major IT breakdown at Morrisons in December 2024 caused significant disruption to both in-store and online transactions, highlighting how fragile payment systems can be during the busiest time of year.
Fast Secure Payments, an official partner of SkyTab by Shift4, supplies small businesses with advanced card machines designed for reliability, even in low-signal areas. The devices feature multi-network connectivity (3G, 4G and WiFi), ensuring smooth transactions whether a business is trading at a market, food truck, café or shop. Shift4 technology has powered payments at major events such as Glastonbury, Formula 1 and the Super Bowl.
Unlike many providers, Fast Secure Payments offers no upfront device costs, no monthly fees and a simple, flat transaction rate. Businesses only pay when they use their machine, and every terminal includes a lifetime warranty. Built-in tools such as sales reporting and customer email capture help business owners manage and grow their customer base without extra charges or steps.
“So many payment systems have confusing or hidden fees,” added Matt. “We wanted to strip that away. Our system is simple, fair and reliable. It works wherever your business takes you.”
Matt’s journey into entrepreneurship followed a period of reflection during the pandemic. After falling seriously ill and acquiring COVID-19 and sepsis in hospital, he decided to step away from corporate life and focus on work that truly mattered.
“When I came home, I realised it was time to do something meaningful. I wanted to use my background in finance to help small businesses, which are the lifeblood of our economy, and do it with my family by my side.”
Based in Kent, Matt runs Fast Secure Payments with the support of his wife and daughter, helping businesses throughout the UK improve their payment reliability and protect their income.
“During the holiday season, when customers are spending more than ever, you can’t afford for your payment system to fail,” Matt added. “We give business owners peace of mind so they can focus on serving their customers, not worrying about their card machines.”