EMV Technology and Pay-at-the-table Services
Using a credit or debit card to pay is the preferred method of 70 percent of people and has become increasingly more safe and secure with the help of EMV chip cards.1 EMV chips prevent payment fraud and improve the purchaser's card security better than cards that use a magnetic stripe, securing transactions across retail, hospitality, and foodservice industries. Below, we'll discuss what EMV is and how it has evolved to pay-at-the-table services in restaurants.
Restaurants Implementing Tableside Payments
Named after the companies that created it, EMV – an acronym for Europay, Mastercard, and Visa – references the embedded smart chips found in their credit cards. Although EMV technology was introduced in the 1990s, it wasn't implemented into daily purchases until the 2010s.2 Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, these cards and tableside payment took another step in popularity since they limit contact with servers and unsanitary surfaces.
Prior to the pandemic, waitstaff would take the customer's cards to a central POS system to complete the payment, which is time consuming and inconvenient for the customer. This process also puts customers' card information at risk when they hand their bank and credit information to someone else and entrust them to complete the transaction.
As the public began to adapt to CDC guidelines, businesses followed suit, introducing pay-at-the-table POS systems to ensure cleanliness and card safety. By allowing customers to complete their transactions at the table, restaurants help reduce the likelihood of card fraud, and customers can use contactless services such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, or banking apps instead of their physical cards.
Paying at the table can also improve table turn times and result in higher revenue for the restaurant. Since the POS is brought to the table, customers can pay quickly and leave, which decreases wait times among incoming customers. Some restaurants that have implemented pay-at-the-table processes have seen table turn increase by 15 percent.3 Decreased wait time and increased table turn leads to more customers and money coming through your establishment.
Choosing a Pay-at-the-table System
Pay-at-the-table-systems are costly upfront – roughly ranging from $700 to $1,200, so it's important to choose one that meets all your requirements,4 such as making sure the system is EMV compliant with encryption to prevent card fraud. These pay-at-the-table systems can be a mobile tablet or kiosk on which the customer swipes, inserts, or waves their card to pay. It's important to note that you'll want to consider how efficient these systems would be for your establishment. Waitstaff save time by not running back and forth to a central POS system, making a pay-at-the-table system a smart investment for large establishments, but it might not make sense for smaller restaurants with just a few tables.
Another thing to consider is if the system can split checks and take mobile payments such as Apple Pay, PayPal, and Google Wallet. Some systems are capable of splitting checks while others require wait staff to manually split the bill. There are also customers out there that expect the ability to pay with a phone; in fact, 38 percent of customers even choose the restaurant they dine in based on this feature.< sup>5
References
- Pay-at the-Table EMV: You Need it Sooner Than Later. NCC. Accessed August 2022.
- What is EMV®? Carat. Accessed August 2022.
- Your Guide to Restaurant Pay at the Table Technology. Toast. Accessed August 2022.
- Mobile Credit Card Processing: The Benefits of Letting Your Customers Pay at the Table. TouchBistro. Accessed August 2022.
- How to Choose the Best Pay-at-the-Table Solution. Hospitality Technology. Accessed August 2022.
