December 2017 Digital Issue

EQUIPMENT
iSTOCK.COM/RATMANER [MOBILE PHONE PAYMENT]
THE NEXT WAVE
Mobile payments and
digital wallets are gaining
traction in restaurants
Launched in October 2015,
Starbucks was the first national
retailer to offer its own mobilepayment
technology and loyalty
program. Today, its Mobile Order
& Pay is available at almost 1,000
Canadian stores and boasts more
than 1.2 million active Canadian My
Starbucks Rewards members. Mobile
payments through the mobile app
now represent 20 per cent of all
in-store transactions in Canadian
Starbucks stores.
But the mobile experience isn’t
just for big companies with custombuilt
apps. The rise of chip-and-pin
technology means mobile payments
such as Apple Pay, Android Pay and
customers paying with digital
wallets are accepted wherever tap
technology is available. Demand is
on the rise as consumers become
accustomed to paying with their
phones. The good news is
that many restaurants
can already accept
mobile payments from
guests with their current
contactless terminal.
don’t realize until it happens to
you. You have the conversations
and it’s all good until you actually
get somebody that disputes
the card or you get a fraudulent
card or whatever you may have; it
really is something you learn by
experience. Unfortunately, most
of the time you end up on the
wrong end.”
Ferracuti has taken a handson
approach to protecting his
business. “If someone swipes a
credit card, we are actually not
protected by the credit company
if it turns out that the card is
fraudulent. So, we’ve taped over
our swipers,” he says. “Luckily it
doesn’t happen very often and
with the pin-chip technology, it
hardly happens at all anymore.
Since pin-chip technology has
been in place, we’ve seen a huge
reduction as far as disputes of
payments. It’s a better system.”
CONTACTLESS PAYMENT
The good news is that contactless
payments are on the rise.
“Contactless is booming in
Canada. Almost all payment
cards in Canada are contactlessenabled
and almost 85 per cent
of Moneris retailers — including
restaurants — are now accepting
contactless payments,” says
Morgan.
Tap-and-pay in the foodservice
businesses is becoming standard
across the board for both restaurants
and guests. In October
of this year, U.S.-based Square
launched its contactless and chip
reader in Canada, making it possible
for foodservice businesses
to accept debit and Interac, credit
cards and mobile payments with
the Square system.
THE FUTURE IS NEAR
Beyond the increase of tapand-pay
technology, consumers
and merchants alike are seeking
seamless solutions. “There’s a
line blurring between the solution
and the payments,” Barrotti
notes. “A lot of our customers are
more bothered by the fact they
have to talk to one person for the
software, another for the payment
and a third for the hardware —
they just want it to come from
one source.”
It seems that’s already becoming
reality. With the recent launch
of its contactless and chip technology,
Square removed the final
barrier to becoming a full POS
solution for the restaurant industry.
Previously, Square wasn’t an
option outside of pop-ups or
off-site events, as accepting debit
or mobile payments wasn’t a possibility
— only credit cards could
be swiped. Now, with all payment
options on the table, a free POS
app for iPads and a low one-time
cost-per-reader ($59), the high
expense of payment processing is
getting a run for its money.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Though praised for its innovation
and low cost, new solutions for
the payment-processing industry
aren’t necessarily going to see a
sweeping takeover in foodservice.
For one, restaurant owners often
have a long-term contract with
their current payment processor
that will need to run its course.
Ferracuti has been through multiple
systems and spent years
troubleshooting with one before
switching to a different option —
even though that meant signing
on at a higher cost. “For me, it
all came back to reliability. The
3G units were a little bit more
expensive on a rental basis, but
they saved us so much more in
customer satisfaction that, to me,
it was worth it.”
Guembel, a fan of Square, initially
tried out the system in his
brewery, but switched after three
months because the solution
didn’t accept debit at the time.
“Messaging and just managing
the expectation of the customer
goes a long way. If you’re going
to trend toward something new,
whether that’s going paperless,
Apple Pay or Square, take the
time to make it really clear to
the consumer upfront. The time
to teach [customers] that you’re
doing something new is not at
the time of payment.”
Now that Square accepts debit
and mobile payments, Guembel is
excited, “It’s forward thinking and
I love that about it.” FH
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
DECEMBER 2017 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 49