WillItSurvive
Vertical and industry software · Unknown

Sunday

Sunday makes QR pay-at-table and checkout software for restaurants, serving 3,000+ venues.

Losing its protection
Assessed 23 July 2026 · Evidence as of 23 July 2026
The structural protection is eroding.
On the recordSince 23 July 2026 · Checkable from summer 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Sunday's public target to double revenue and guest volume
The call

Sunday grew fast on a POS-agnostic wedge, but Toast's 120,000-restaurant base and free bundling squeeze the space it can still call its own.

Sunday lets restaurant customers pay at their table using QR codes, and it works with any point-of-sale system, not just one brand. The company powers 3,000 restaurants and handles $4 billion in payments yearly. The problem is that Toast (which serves 120,000 restaurants) and Square have already built the same QR payment feature and can give it away free to their customers, since they already own the relationship. Sunday's only real advantage is that it works with any restaurant system, but Toast and Square can crush that advantage by bundling their versions for free. The company's survival depends on whether it hit its goal to double revenue and guest volume by summer 2026 and whether Toast decides to aggressively give its QR checkout away at no cost.

Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. AI features like tip prompts or review replies are add-ons, not the core product, so no AI lab directly threatens the payment rail itself. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: Toast, Inc.. Toast has 120,000 US restaurants and can bundle pay-at-table free, shrinking Sunday's market to POS-agnostic chains and independents. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. POS neutrality lets multi-vendor chains and independents use Sunday without ripping out their existing POS system.
What would change this call
Sunday's public claim to double revenue and guest volume by summer 2026 confirmed hit or miss. Shows whether growth momentum matches its own stated targets.
Toast reports rising pay-at-table attach rate across its 120,000-restaurant base within 12 months. Would show Toast normalizing free QR checkout, shrinking Sunday's addressable market.
Flagship logos like Big Mamma, Dishoom, or Lettuce Entertain You switch to Toast, Stripe, or Adyen. Would show defection of anchor accounts to larger rivals.
Key numbers
  • $4B in annual payment volume, tripled YoY (Nov 2025)
  • 80M diners served across 3,000+ restaurants (Nov 2025)
  • $21M Series B, ~$145M raised lifetime (Nov 2025)
Named risks
  • Toast or Square could bundle free pay-at-table into existing massive install bases, eroding Sunday's differentiation. Severity: high
  • Publicly stated double revenue and guest volume by summer 2026 target lapsed with no disclosed results as of brief date. Severity: medium
  • History of laying off over half its staff in 2022 signals susceptibility to funding or demand shocks. Severity: medium
  • Dependence on flagship logos like Big Mamma, Dishoom, Lettuce Entertain You that could defect to Toast or Stripe. Severity: medium
  • Most growth and traction figures are self-reported by the company with no independent verification found. Severity: low
Rivals, as read in July 2026
RivalDirectionEvidence
Toast, Inc.contestingToast serves ~120,000 US restaurants vs Sunday's 3,000+, per Wikipedia, 2026-07-23
Square (Block)contestingSquare investing in pay-at-table for its broad small-business base, per trade press, 2025-12-05
LightspeedcontestingNamed alongside Toast and Square as investing in mobile checkout, 2025-12-05
Adyen, Stripe, PayPalgaining onGlobal payments giants circling restaurant pay-at-table lane per trade press, 2025-12-05
Questions people ask
Is Sunday (the restaurant payments startup) profitable?
No profitability figure has been disclosed. Sunday raised a $21M Series B on November 13, 2025 and says revenue tripled over the prior year, but it has not published net income or profitability data as of the brief date.
Who is Sunday's biggest competitor?
Toast, Inc. (NYSE: TOST) is the largest incumbent threat, serving roughly 120,000 US restaurants as of mid-2024 versus Sunday's 3,000+, per Wikipedia (2026-07-23). Square, Lightspeed, Adyen, Stripe and PayPal are also investing in pay-at-table, per trade press dated 2025-12-05.
Could AI replace what Sunday does for restaurants?
Unlikely to replace its core payments layer since PCI-regulated payment rails resist frontier-model disruption; but AI features like tip suggestions and automated Google review replies, which Sunday already ships per sundayapp.com, are commodity layers larger POS incumbents can easily clone.
How much money has Sunday raised in total?
Sunday has raised roughly $145M lifetime per Pitchbook, including a $24M seed round in early 2021, a ~$100M Series A later in 2021, and a $21M Series B closed November 13, 2025 with DST Global Partners participating.
How many restaurants use Sunday's payment platform?
As of November 13, 2025, Sunday says it serves 3,000+ restaurants across the US, UK and France, reaching over 80 million diners annually and processing more than $4 billion in payments a year, per its Businesswire announcement.
Did Sunday have layoffs?
Yes. Sunday laid off over half its staff in early 2022 amid the broader tech downturn, according to Sifted (2025-11-13), before rebuilding to roughly 200-250 employees by its November 2025 Series B raise.
Timeline
  • 2026-07-06ZoomInfo lists Sunday's acquisition of a company called Chk Plz, detail unverified
  • 2026-06-18Sunday job posting states US team has 70+ employees across 7 states
  • 2026-05-15Sunday publishes Series B recap outlining product roadmap and UAE expansion
  • 2025-12-05Trade press flags intensifying competition from Toast, Square, Lightspeed, Adyen, Stripe
  • 2025-11-13Sunday closes $21M Series B led with DST Global Partners; reports $4B annual volume
  • 2025-01Sunday's first major Middle East partner reportedly goes live in the UAE
  • 2022-02Sunday lays off over half its staff amid tech downturn
  • 2021-06Sunday raises approximately $100M Series A
  • 2021-01Sunday closes $24M seed round with Coatue, New Wave, Global Founders Capital
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
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