As India’s food service sector races to digitise, point-of-sale technology has moved far beyond the billing counter — evolving into a full-stack business intelligence platform. At the forefront of this shift is RoyalPOS, a homegrown solution now powering over 7,500 restaurants, cafes, and food businesses across India and the Middle East. In an exclusive conversation with Kitchen Herald, Utpal Ruparel, Co-Founder of RoyalPOS, speaks about the company’s founding philosophy, the forces reshaping merchant expectations, and where the next wave of POS innovation is headed. In an exclusive interaction with Utpal Ruparel, Co-Founder, RoyalPOS, we explore how the company is transforming from a traditional billing solution into a comprehensive business growth platform, the impact of UPI and digitalisation on merchant expectations, and the innovations shaping the future of the food service POS ecosystem.
1. Royal POS has been carving its niche in a competitive market — what was the founding vision, and how has that evolved as the POS landscape has changed?
When we started RoyalPOS, our vision was simple: make technology easy and affordable for restaurants, cafes, and food businesses. At that time, many businesses were still managing billing, inventory, and reports manually or through disconnected systems.
Over the years, the POS industry has evolved significantly. Today, business owners expect much more than just billing software. They want real-time insights, inventory control, customer engagement tools, and the flexibility to manage operations from anywhere.
Our vision has evolved accordingly. We now see RoyalPOS not just as a billing solution, but as a business growth platform that helps food businesses operate smarter, save time, and make better decisions.
2. The lines between POS, ERP, CRM, and loyalty platforms are blurring. Do you see POS evolving into the central operating system of a retail business?
Absolutely.
The POS sits at the centre of daily business operations. Every sale, customer interaction, inventory movement, and payment transaction flows through it. Because of this, the POS naturally becomes the most important source of business data.
We believe the future POS will act as the operating system of a business, bringing together billing, inventory, customer management, loyalty programmes, analytics, and integrations within one platform. Business owners increasingly prefer a single solution rather than managing multiple disconnected systems.
3. UPI has fundamentally rewired payment behaviour in India. How has that shaped what merchants now expect from their POS provider?
UPI has transformed the way India pays.
Today’s merchants expect payments to be instant, seamless, and fully integrated with their POS system. They no longer want to manually match payments with bills or spend time reconciling transactions at the end of the day.
As a result, merchants now expect their POS provider to support multiple payment methods, automate reconciliation, and provide real-time visibility into collections. Speed, simplicity, and accuracy have become non-negotiable requirements.
4. We are seeing POS companies move into embedded lending — offering working capital to merchants based on their transaction data. Is that a direction Royal POS is exploring?
Access to working capital remains a challenge for many small and medium-sized businesses. Transaction data generated through POS systems can certainly help lenders make faster and more informed decisions. While embedded finance is an exciting opportunity, our current focus remains on helping merchants improve operational efficiency and business visibility.
That said, we are continuously exploring partnerships and opportunities that can create additional value for our customers while keeping the merchant’s needs at the centre.
5. Merchant churn is a known pain point in the POS industry. What are the most common reasons merchants switch providers, and how do you build stickiness?
In our experience, merchants usually switch providers because of poor customer support, complicated software, lack of reliability, hidden costs, or products that fail to adapt to their growing business needs.
At RoyalPOS, we focus on three key areas: simplicity, reliability, and support. We design our platform to be easy to use, provide continuous product improvements, and ensure merchants receive timely assistance whenever they need help.
Ultimately, merchants stay when they see consistent value and know they can depend on their technology partner.
6. Banks and payment networks are increasingly bundling POS services with merchant acquiring. Does that make banks competitors, partners, or both?
We see them as both partners and collaborators.
Banks and payment providers have strong expertise in payments and merchant acquiring, while POS companies specialise in business operations and merchant workflows. Together, both can create a more complete solution for merchants.
As the ecosystem evolves, collaboration will become increasingly important. Businesses benefit most when payment services and operational technology work seamlessly together.
7. Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities represent a massive untapped opportunity. What are the unique challenges of selling and servicing POS in these markets?
Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are among the most exciting growth markets for the POS industry.
However, these markets come with unique challenges. Business owners often need more hands-on onboarding, local-language support, and greater trust before adopting new technology. Reliable service and training are equally important.
At RoyalPOS, we have invested significantly in building a strong channel partner network across the country. Local partners help us provide personalised support, faster onboarding, and a better customer experience. We believe this local presence is critical for long-term success in these markets.
8. What are the major expansion plans for Royal POS?
Our focus is on strengthening our leadership position within the food and beverage industry while continuing to expand our reach across India and the Middle East.
We are investing in product innovation, AI-driven automation, smarter inventory management, advanced business reporting, and deeper integrations that help merchants run their businesses more efficiently.
With over 7,500 businesses already using RoyalPOS, our goal is to empower many more restaurants, cafes, food courts, and retail businesses with simple, mobile-first technology that helps them grow and succeed in an increasingly digital economy.
