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Pay-at-the-Table Solutions Offer Restaurants and Developers New Opportunities
pay-at-the-tablesemi-integratedmobile-sdk

By Michael McIlroy and The North Developers | December 28th, 2023

Overview

Paying at the table is becoming a more popular way to pay at restaurants in the U.S., and the reasons are clear: it’s quicker, more convenient, more secure for restaurant guests, and streamlines servers’ workflows, further enhancing customer experiences. Pay-at-the-table technology provides diners with prompt, contactless service with payment cards never leaving the customer’s sight.
Pay-at-the-Table NFC terminal

Developers integrating payments into Point of Sale (POS) applications for the restaurant industry can quickly code wireless smart terminals or mobile devices to accept pay-at-the-table transactions by leveraging a variety of solutions, such as mobile SDKs for Android or PAX Smart Terminals, or Semi-Integrated APIs like the Ingenico Semi-Integrated API. Developers looking to use the PAX SDK for a Semi-Integrated solution can get started with the PAX Semi-Integrated SDK. Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and merchants will find that today's smart terminals increase payment security, improve efficiency in restaurants, and help with payment fraud prevention.

Get in Touch

Talk to us about setting up your pay-at-the-table solution.

What is Pay-at-the-Table technology?

Pay-at-the-table products simplify the payment process by allowing restaurants to accept payments and print receipts on a portable POS system without their guests’ credit cards or debit cards leaving their sight. This technology also allows merchants to process payments made via digital wallets for contactless checkout. It’s a faster, simpler, and safer checkout process for restaurant operators and guests alike.

How Pay-at-the-Table Works

At the end of a meal, customers historically handed their payment cards over to servers who brought the cards to a POS terminal to complete the transaction. With a pay-at-the-table solution, however, the server brings a payment card reader to the customer and eliminates the need to walk to a stationary terminal and wait in line behind other servers to complete transactions.

Devices can be equipped with near-field communication (NFC) technology so that the customer can tap or wave a contactless payment card or smartphone with a mobile wallet app near the device to make the payment, creating a quick and easy way to pay.

Restaurants also have other options for creating a pay-at-the-table experience. For example, some restaurants deploy tabletop devices that customers can use to pay, disinfecting them between uses. This option gives guests the convenience to pay and leave the restaurant when they’re ready, rather than waiting for restaurant staff to help them settle their checks. Additionally, it eliminates the need for staff to handle transactions, giving them more time to spend on other aspects of their jobs.

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Alternatively, restaurants can print QR payment codes on their customers’ receipts. Then, to settle a check, customers can simply scan the code with a smartphone camera to open the payment page and complete the transaction, much like paying for an online order. The downside to this payment method is that transactions are processed as “card-not-present” payments, and the merchant pays higher processing fees. Fortunately, innovators are working to address that issue so that QR code payments accepted in the future can be processed at “card-present” rates.

Benefits of Pay-at-the-Table Solutions

Using a traditional payment solution, the server typically leaves the bill at the customer's table, then the customer waits for the server to return and take their card, go to the servers' station to swipe, tap, or dip the card, and return to the table with the receipt. Pay-at-the-table solutions are a more convenient alternative to this method and offer a host of benefits, described below.

Faster, More Efficient Checkout

Pay-at-the-table solutions minimize the steps required to checkout because the server brings the bill to the customer's table where the customer pays immediately and is free to leave after. The time required to complete the payment process is significantly reduced, offering better customer service and often as a result, higher gratuities.

Increased Table Turns

Another benefit of a fast checkout process happens when a customer finishes dining and can leave as soon as they're ready, opening up their table for the next guest much faster. This reduces customer wait times and increases the number of tables served overall.

Free Up Staff for Other Tasks

When staff can complete the checkout process in a fraction of the time, they can use the rest of the time they would have spent on that single process to take care of other valuable tasks.

Contactless Checkout

When the payment terminal is brought to the table, there's no need for multiple people to handle the card. The cardholder can tap their own card on the terminal for a completely contactless experience.

Lower Risk of Fraud

In general, pay-at-the-table technology adds a higher level of payment security because customers’ payment cards never leave their sight, so they know their account numbers aren’t compromised.

Fewer Chargebacks

In a pay-at-the-table process where the customer checks out while the server is present, customers are more likely to let the server know if they disagree with any items on their bill, and the server can resolve those issues before the customer pays — otherwise, the customer may choose to call their bank later to dispute the entire transaction, resulting in a chargeback for the restaurant.

The Cons of Pay-at-the-Table Solutions

While pay-at-the-table solutions provide an improved dining experience in most ways, businesses should also be aware of the drawbacks described below.

Reservations about New Technology

Some customers are hesitant to use new technologies and may be uncomfortable changing the way they've paid their bill in the past.

Setup Costs

Accepting payments from the table requires wireless hardware with a small form-factor. Businesses that have already invested in wired, countertop payment terminals may find it costly to purchase the new equipment required to take payments at the table.

How To Choose the Right Pay-At-The-Table System for Your Restaurant

The best pay-at-the-table solution for each business will depend on a variety of factors. Restaurants that don't want to invest in purchasing wireless payment terminals may choose to provide QR codes that enable customers to pay at the table using an online checkout form. Those that already have wireless terminals or plan to purchase them may choose a more standard pay-at-the-table solution, accepting payments from a handheld terminal while the POS app runs on another device, such as a computer or tablet. Or, if the POS app is built to run directly on the smart terminal, servers may even be able to take orders at the table and simultaneously enter them into the POS app on the terminal.

ISV and Developer Opportunities

ISVs can help their restaurant clients increase profitability by developing an application that enables restaurant staff to take orders from the same device that accepts payments at the table, customizing the app to meet the specific needs of a restaurant chain. This solution eliminates steps and saves time by immediately transmitting orders to kitchen printers or a Kitchen Display System (KDS). Then, when guests are ready to pay, servers can complete transactions in one step — no walking back and forth to a terminal or waiting in line to use it — all of which helps increase table turns, and profits.

Learn More

North provides its ISV partners with solutions that enable restaurants to accept card-present payments through the ISV's custom app paired with a payment device, such as the PAX A920. The Payanywhere Android SDK is pre-certified to accept pay-at-the-table EMV transactions, enables tokenized data, and makes embedding payments into POS software easy.

Contact us to learn more about how to connect your system to the North payment gateway.

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