Agilysys : New Frontiers of Payments

7 Solutions to Help Restaurants and Hotels Enable Payment Innovation Readiness

Article by Lisa Terry, Contributing Editor, Hospitality Tech April 2017

Research reveals that mobile capabilities influence consumers' restaurant and hotel selections. Integrating emerging and mobile payment options puts the control of payments back in the hands of consumers, allowing them to pay how, when and where they want, often without money exchanging hands or payment card leaving their person. Payment innovations further improve speed and service, by fostering seamless experiences for guests and can potentially yield higher sales.

Innovations such as e-wallets, PayPal and online bank transfers can improve speed and service by fostering fast and seamless payment experiences, and offer the potential to drive conversions, loyalty and incremental revenue. Mobile is a major catalyst for making alternative payments more popular, but uncertainty surrounding timing, payback, and security has kept many organizations playing wait-and-see. This is not the time for hesitance, however!

Worldpay (www.worldpay.com) predicts that 59% of payments globally will be made via alternative payment methods this year. Meanwhile, findings from HT's 2016 Customer Engagement Technology Study reveal that three out of five diners (61%) want mobile payment but less than half of restaurants offer it. Looking at the hotel side, the report indicates that guests increasingly seek frictionless experiences throughout the stay via smartphones. Mobile payments is a natural extension of this.

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