The final impression of a visit to a restaurant is the payment process. If it runs quickly and easily, the guests will leave the location satisfied and will be happy to come back. However, if there are complications, even the nicest evening can take on a bland aftertaste. So, how do you make paying the restaurant bill most customer-friendly?
Corona adds to the trend of cashless payments in restaurants
In recent years, and especially during the Corona pandemic, cashless payment systems have seen a boom in gastronomy. Compared to cash payments, which are not only more time-consuming and error-prone but can also increase the risk of infectious diseases, cashless payment methods offer a much simpler, faster and more hygienic solution. Many guests like to use the contactless card payment option.
According to the June 2021 "eat.pay.love" survey by Orderbird and Mastercard, the share of card payments in gastronomy increased from 39.4% in 2020 to 43.3% in 2021. 91% of the participants said that accepting card payments should be part of the service in gastronomy. Nearly two-thirds of the participants (62%) in 2021 said they had made contactless payments with their card or smartphone in the last twelve months, compared to just 46% in 2019. 40.9% of 30 to 39 year olds said they would always pay by card when visiting restaurants.
Advantages of cashless payment methods for guests and restaurateurs
For both customers and restaurateurs, cashless payments are a win-win situation. For customers, the advantages are:
- Greater flexibility and convenience
- No need to worry about sufficient cash
- Spontaneous reorders possible
- No searching for the right amount
- Swift, discreet and hygienic payment process
The advantages for restaurateurs:
- Smaller stock of change needed
- Less cash to be transferred to the bank
- Lower risk of fraud and shrinkage
- Faster payment process handling
- High acceptance among customers
- Meeting the expectations of guests
- Less effort for cash counting and accounting
What cashless payment methods should you offer at the restaurant?
Payment without cash can be made in various ways. In gastronomy, the following cashless payment methods are particularly suited:
- Card payment: For this classic payment method, the card is inserted into a card reader. The transaction may have to be confirmed with a PIN number so that the amount can be debited.
- Contactless payment: For this payment method, all you need to do is place the appropriate card on the payment terminal. The connection is established using NFC ("near field communication"). Depending on the amount or setting, a PIN may be required.
- Mobile payment: This innovative payment method sets new standards in cashless payment methods. Whether Apple Pay for iOS or Google Pay for Android – mobile payments can be made easily via smartphones or wearables such as smartwatches. The security functions used here are fingerprint scans or facial recognition.
Five tips for payment systems in gastronomy
- If you still have old card terminals without the NFC function, it makes sense to replace them with new devices. In this way, you also enable contactless payment by card or smartphone for your guests.
- When selecting new card readers, also pay attention to the CDCVM ("Consumer Device Cardholder Verification Method") function. This allows mobile payment authentication via fingerprint or Face ID. This eliminates the need to enter a PIN and makes payment even faster and smoother.
- Adapt card acceptance to the countries of origin of your guests. Apart from the Girocard, Visa and Mastercard standards, American Express or Discover, which give you access to a worldwide network of local credit cards, are also popular.
- Use modern methods to take orders, such as small tablets or smartphones, which can also be used to make payments via special apps. By using "PIN on glass", entering the PIN on the restaurant's own mobile devices is also secure in terms of data protection.
- Offer cashless payment methods, but avoid scaring your guests off with a complete switch to cashless. Especially for older guests, paying with cash is still the number one payment method at the restaurant.
