National Restaurant Association Show 2026: Fintech Takeaways

Research evidence excerpt

National Restaurant Association Show 2026: Fintech Takeaways

May 19, 2026 | 17:03 ET~

Payments, Processors, & FinTech

National Restaurant Association Show 2026: Fintech Payments, Processors, & FinTech

Takeaways Andrew Bauch, CFA, CPA Analyst

andrew.bauch@bmo.com (929) 594-1731

Andrew Estes Associate

Bottom Line: andrew.estes@bmo.com (646) 438-3717

We attended the 2026 NRA Show in Chicago over the weekend and Monday (link). Conan Leon VP Associate

The event brought together 300+ vendors spanning the full merchant acquiring and conan.leon@bmo.com (212) 671-8003

restaurant technology stack, from scaled legacy providers to next-generation integrated Legal Entity: BMO Capital Markets Corp.

platforms and marketplace demand-generation players. Below are key takeaways.

Global X Fintech ETF

Key Points 40

AI-native POS now table stakes. Observations around on-device AI, voice ordering,

and AI agent workflows were front and center throughout the weekend. From our 30 900 800

600conversations, the expectation has shifted from simply offering AI tools as a 700 500 25

feature to framing platforms as AI-first. Features showcased at the event by 400300200

companies in our coverage included TOST - ToastIQ, XYZ - Square voice AI, GPN - Genius, 20 1000

Nov May Nov May

and FISV - Clover's AI- and Biometrics-Enabled Hardware. LHS: Price / RHS: Volume (k) Source: FactSet

Both Toast (TOST) and Block (XYZ) launched dedicated drive-thru offerings in the

weeks leading up to the event, which we see as a prerequisite to win in enterprise QSR.

Historically, this segment was dominated by NCR Voyix, PAR, and Oracle Micros but now

faces more formidable competition.

Toast Drive-Thru (launched 4/14) was showcased; it is a unified enterprise QSR