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How Lloyds helped Wilton Patisserie with a more appetising payment solution
Read time: 3 mins Added date: 21/01/2025
Discover how Lloyds Cardnet® helped Wilton Patisserie streamline their payment processes, saving valuable time and allowing them to focus on growing their business.
People say you can’t have your cake and eat it, but when it comes to taking payments easily and growing your business, you definitely can. Wilton Patisserie’s experience is a testament to this. Founded in Cyprus in 1986, the business expanded to the UK in 2010, opening a large shop in north London.
Word quickly spread, and their range of mouthwatering cakes and pastries inspired by traditional Cypriot treats and those from other European countries have proved extremely popular. In the summer of 2024, Wilton Patisserie opened a new warehouse and a second UK shop in Birmingham to go with the five still thriving in Cyprus.
Even in a challenging economy, this family business has gone from strength to strength, with lots of new and repeat customers enjoying their delicious treats.
The pain of fixing payment challenges
The quality of the ingredients, finished products and customer service are never compromised. When Andy and his son Michael, who jointly manages the business, were looking for a provider to help them take customer payments in their UK stores, they recognised the same qualities in Lloyds Cardnet.
Things don’t always go to plan when baking cakes, and the same applies to payment and EPOS providers. The system Michael was using in London was causing difficulties because any transaction discrepancies, even by a penny, had to be manually reconciled. This time-consuming process took valuable hours away from other essential tasks as they were looking to expand.
Why face-to-face comes first
While they found the thought of switching payment and EPOS suppliers daunting, especially during a period of change and growth, Andy and Michael were reassured by the refreshing approach taken by Lloyds.
“One of the deciding factors in choosing Lloyds was that Alan Chilvers, the Lloyds Relationship Manager, and Tina Baxter from Cardnet came to visit us. A Zoom meeting for 30 minutes wasn’t enough for me, but that’s all the other banks were offering. The personal touch made a huge difference because of the time taken to see for themselves what we do and really understand our business,” Andy asserts.
After assessing their needs, Tina recommended the NuEPOS system with integrated Castles Saturn card terminals. This combination eliminated many hours of painstaking payment reconciliation at the end of each day. The NuEPOS team are always on hand to quickly tailor custom software updates and solutions to meet the needs of Wilton Patisserie. This is something they’ve already seen considerable benefit from, including cutting out the printing of unnecessary additional receipts.
Whether baking cakes for special occasions or taking card payments, every detail needs to be just right. Michael appreciated the thoughtful little touches, such as the new card terminals arriving quickly and pre-populated with Wilton Patisserie’s information. When there was a minor issue he needed help with, Tina took the time to visit in person so she could fully understand the problem and get it resolved quickly.
Business benefits baked in
On a practical level, having a more streamlined payment system has helped the business, but there are other less obvious advantages.
The NuEPOS system came in at the perfect time with the opening of the second shop and the new warehouse. Andy and Michael were used to running their UK operations from one location, but with additional stock control to take care of and new site teething problems, taking the card payment issues off the table has allowed them to spend more time at the Birmingham branch.
Michael says the integration between card terminals and the NuEPOS system is reflected in the joined-up approach to business banking.
“We’re a Lloyds business customer as well, and it’s nice that everyone knows each other and there’s no being passed around from person to person wasting valuable time. If you’re a business owner looking to switch, I’d say put any nervousness to one side and get in touch with Lloyds because we wish we’d made the change sooner.”
Watch their story
Hear from Michael Georgiou at Wilton Patisserie to understand how a smarter payment solution saved time for their business, allowing them to focus on growing their brand.
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Michael Georgiou, Chief Operating Officer, Wilton Patisserie
It all started about 16 years ago, when we had the dream to bring the taste of Cyprus to London.
Here at Wilton Patisserie, everything is made fresh daily.
Good morning. Good morning.
We’re here at the crack of dawn, firing up the ovens, cooking the savouries, mixing the cakes, and getting everything out fresh.
One of the best parts about owning a business is watching your brand grow year on year.
As the company grew, we were getting more and more customers. The orders were stacking, and unfortunately the old payment system that we were using just couldn’t deal with the demands of the business anymore.
I had to be in the office reconciling accounts. We were having problems, and so it was keeping me away from what was really important, which was keeping our customers happy.
We got in contact with Lloyds when we were looking to open up a new business account. At that time, the idea of expansion was definitely on the cards for us. We’d already sourced the second store.
Tina from Lloyds was great. [Tina Baxter, Associate Director, Lloyds Merchant Services]
From the very beginning, she was very hands-on. She actually recommended us to go speak to the guys at NuEPOS and marry that up with the Castle Saturn card terminal, because the two integrate really well with the Lloyds system in the background, and that just suited our business perfectly.
Now that the business has grown and we’ve been able to update our EPOS system and our payment provider, it’s enabled us to have so much more time to look after the new store.
The days of sitting here and reconciling accounts are done with now. We can focus on the more important things, which is growing the brand, growing the business and by having Lloyds and the NuEPOS system and that integration, that’s just one step to help us to pursue that dream.
End frame
Join thousands of businesses using Lloyds to accept payments quickly; in store, online, or on the move.
lloydsbank.com/takepayments
Is it time to try a different recipe?
Lloyds Cardnet has made taking payments sweeter in a wide range of sectors, including retail, hospitality, healthcare and professional services. Providing a reliable solution that can adapt to meet the needs of an expanding business is essential.
“We pride ourselves on delivering custom solutions for each business, and all of the products are integrated. Other advantages include face-to-face meetings, fast hardware delivery and custom code being written overnight by NuEPOS when required. We work in tandem with businesses to help boost their growth,” Tina concludes.
If payment issues are getting in the way of your expansion, get in touch below to learn how we can help.