Contactless Ordering & Payments For Restaurants

Contactless ordering for restaurants refers to a method of placing orders, typically in a restaurant or food-service setting, that eliminates or greatly reduces the need for direct physical contact between staff and customers. It uses radio frequency identification technology to transfer the data from a mobile device to a card reader, most commonly through apps like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay.

Here's how a typical contactless ordering process might look:

Menu Access: Instead of handling a physical menu, customers can access the menu digitally. This is often facilitated by scanning a QR code on the table or elsewhere in the establishment using their smartphone. This directs them to a website or app where the restaurant's menu is displayed.

Order Placement: Customers can then browse the menu and select their choices on their own devices. If your restaurant uses a dedicated food ordering system, your customers can place their orders directly from their devices. In other cases, customers might still verbally relay their order to a server, but the need to handle physical menus and possibly other materials is eliminated.

Payment: Contactless ordering often goes hand-in-hand with contactless payment. Instead of handing over cash or a credit card, customers can pay for their orders using digital payment methods. This might involve entering payment details on a website or app, or using a contactless card or digital wallet at a payment terminal.

Food Delivery: Depending on the exact system and the type of establishment, food might be delivered by a server to the table, or customers might pick up their order from a designated spot when it's ready.

Contactless ordering can improve efficiency, provide a safer and more comfortable dining experience during public health crises, and offer more flexibility and convenience for customers.

To set up a contactless payment and ordering system, you'll need a combination of technology and process changes. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you through the process:

1. Online Ordering System: Set up a food ordering system that allows customers to browse your menu, select items, and place their orders through your website or a dedicated mobile app.

2. Mobile Payments: Enable mobile payment options such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, or other digital wallet services. These allow customers to make payments using their smartphones, reducing the need for physical contact with payment terminals.

3. QR Code Menu: Create and display QR codes on tables, menus, or other prominent locations in your restaurant. Customers can scan these codes using their smartphones to access your menu, place orders, and make payments.

4. Contactless Payment Terminals: Invest in contactless payment terminals that accept NFC (Near Field Communication) payments. These terminals allow customers to tap their contactless cards or smartphones for payment, eliminating the need for physical card insertion or PIN entry.

5. Digital Receipts: Offer digital receipts instead of paper receipts. Send receipts to customers via email or text message to reduce physical contact and paper waste.

Contactless ordering offers a number of benefits to both businesses and customers:

Efficiency: Contactless ordering can streamline the ordering process, reducing wait times for customers and freeing up staff to focus on other tasks. For businesses, this increased efficiency can potentially translate into serving more customers and generating more revenue.

Convenience: For customers, the ability to browse the menu, place orders, and pay all from their own device can be highly convenient. It also allows customers to place orders at their own pace without feeling rushed.

Accuracy: Digital ordering can help to reduce errors in order taking, as customers input their own orders directly. This can lead to improved customer satisfaction and reduced waste from incorrect orders.

Cost Savings: For businesses, contactless ordering can also save on the costs of printing and updating physical menus.

Data Collection and Personalization: Digital ordering systems can allow businesses to collect valuable data on customer preferences, which can be used to personalize the customer experience and make informed business decisions

Ease of Updating: Digital menus can be updated easily and instantly, allowing for greater flexibility in changing menu items, prices or adding specials. These benefits need to be balanced against potential challenges, such as the need for customers to have a smartphone and be comfortable using it for ordering and the need for businesses to invest in and maintain the necessary technology. However, with the growing prevalence of smartphone use and digital literacy, and the increasing affordability and accessibility of technology, these challenges are becoming less and less of a barrier.

A straightforward answer is that contactless ordering is when you pay for your order using contactless payment cards, such as Apple or Google Pay. See the below example of how a typical transaction would look in a restaurant that offers a QR code menu and contactless ordering and payment options.

Imagine you're going to your favorite local café, which has recently implemented a contactless ordering system due to the ongoing need for safety measures and increased efficiency.

Menu Access: When you arrive and sit down at a table, you'll notice there's a QR code printed on a small stand on the table. You take out your smartphone, open the camera app, and point it at the QR code. Your phone recognizes the code, and a link pops up on your screen.

Order Placement: You tap on the link, which takes you to the café's digital menu on their website. You browse through the menu and decide what you'd like to order. You select your choices – a cappuccino and a croissant – and add them to your digital "cart." You then review your order, make any necessary modifications, and finally, submit your order.

Payment: The café's system asks you to pay for your order. You're given a choice of several contactless payment methods – credit card, digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay, or a payment app like PayPal. You choose your preferred method, enter your payment details, and confirm the payment. It is key, however, to offer the possibility for your customers to pay at the table.

Order Realization: Your order is received by the café staff, who start preparing your coffee and warming up your croissant. In a few minutes, a server comes to your table with your order.

Order Completion: Upon receiving your order, you check on your phone that the order has been marked as "complete" or "served" in the system. You enjoy your coffee and croissant, and when you're done, you simply get up and leave, as you've already paid for your order through the system.

In this way, the entire process, from accessing the menu to placing your order and making payment, happens digitally, without the need for physical menus, cash, or cards, making it a fully contactless ordering experience. Contactless technology, such as a contactless payment card, greatly simplifies the payment process and guarantees more secure payments.

Contactless payment does not need to be difficult. There are contactless ordering and payment systems that can be set up within a day. These solutions offer ready-made mobile app menu templates that restaurant owners without any technical background can easily set up. Once ready, the restaurateurs can start accepting contactless credit cards, mobile wallets, contactless debit, and virtually any other mobile payment option. If the food ordering system they use includes a QR code menu, then they can also put QR codes in strategic places around their restaurant so that their customers can scan them, order, and pay directly from their mobile devices.