By Sander Meijers
From contactless payments to food delivery platforms, the pandemic was the catalyst for many restaurants embracing today’s technology. However, restaurants have the opportunity to further enhance the customer experience and build brand loyalty through payment technology.
The days of ordering food delivery from your local restaurant over the phone, running to an ATM to grab cash, and hustling back to avoid missing the delivery is a thing of the past. Today’s consumers hunger for a seamless experience across every channel, device, and location. From pay-at-the-table technology to localized custom checkouts, enhanced in-person payments, and a secure checkout experience, consumer demand is driving innovation in the restaurant industry.
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Embracing pay-at-the-table technology
Paying the bill at a restaurant is often seen as a hassle, but it doesn’t have to be. Paying at the table, or anywhere for that matter, is a key trend in the hospitality industry in improving the customer experience. This is all thanks to sleek and small mobile point of sale terminals (mPOS) that create a beneficial experience for restaurant employees and guests. If implemented effectively, pay-at-the-table technology can allow managers to turn more tables, free up staff, increase revenue, and boost tips.
For guests, it not only provides expected convenience, but it can also provide benefits such as splitting cheques, faster delivery of the bill, and avoiding long queues at a kiosk or the cash register. Payment platforms can further customize the experience by offering pre-calculated tip amounts to save customers the guesswork and save paper by sending the receipt to their email rather than printing a copy.
Offering custom checkouts recognizing loyalty
In order to build brand loyalty, it’s important to recognize customers at the checkout and create personal interactions accordingly, such as presenting guests with relevant languages and payment methods. If a customer bounces between ordering food online, in-app, and in-person at their local pizza place, the restaurant needs to offer a seamless experience at every touch point, even making suggestions based on their past orders to add value. This can also provide an opportunity for convenient up-sells to customers, like adding a beverage or side dish to their order that they have enjoyed in the past.
A great example of this is McDonald’s: their payment system enables customers to register their preferred payment types to their digital profile, allowing the restaurant to create a tailored experience at every checkout, online or in-person. In markets around the world, McDonald’s loyalty customers are able to pay with their saved payment method on the mobile app at the front counter, kiosk, or drive-thru which provides convenience and supports operational speed.
Enhancing multi-channel payments with flexibility
Payment methods are evolving all the time, and diners’ preferences will likely depend on their demographics. However, since the pandemic, contactless methods are becoming more important to customers, including digital wallets, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. In order to enhance multi-channel payments, restaurants should focus on flexibility with multiple cards and payment options, using the terminal to ask questions and improve guest interactions.
Ensuring safe and secure transactions
Building trust with customers is an important aspect of building brand loyalty. As more and more consumers move to digital wallets and online payments, ensuring safe and secure transactions needs to be a top priority. For example, Joe & The Juice, which recently expanded to Vancouver, did well during the pandemic by quickly pivoting to digital channels. However, this came with an increased need for a careful balance between constant transaction monitoring and using risk settings to block suspicious transactions. As a franchise with locations across North America, they have a single global interface that enables them to quickly identify and block any suspicious transactions. As a result, customers can continue to order and pay online with peace of mind.
Payment technology is no longer just a tool for processing transactions; it’s now an essential component of the overall customer experience. Restaurants that leverage payment technology to create a more streamlined, customized, and secure experience stand to increase revenue and build brand loyalty with their patrons. By adopting pay-at-the-table technology, offering customizable and localized checkouts, accepting a wide range of payment methods, and prioritizing payment security, restaurants can create a payment experience that’s both efficient and enjoyable for their customers.
Sander Meijers is the Canada Country Manager for Adyen (AMS:ADYEN), the financial technology platform of choice for leading companies. By providing end-to-end payments capabilities, data-driven insights, and financial products in a single global solution, Adyen helps businesses achieve their ambitions faster.
