Restaurants can choose from several mobile payments apps to implement and encourage their customers use, such as Cover, Tabbedout, MyCheck and Dash.
After testing out a variety, Austin, Texas-based restaurant Hillside Farmacy chose the app that saved it money: Zapper.
Zapper offered Hillside Farmacy a 1.8% credit card processing fee for all credit cards, opposed to having a varied fee depending on the credit card, which is typically between 2-3%, says Irael Balderas, general manager at Hillside Farmacy.
Each check from the restaurant now prints with a unique Zapper QR code on it. Zapper provided Hillside Farmacy an interceptor that connects the terminal where servers input orders to the receipt printer.
To use the Zapper app to pay a diner downloads the app—the restaurant has free Wi-Fi—creates an account and saves her credit card information. Then, when she scans the QR code on the back of the check with the Zapper app, she can see a digital copy of the check. The diner can then select from options such as, pay half, or pay a third, or input a specific amount. She then adds a tip and clicks submit. A receipt confirming the amount the customer paid prints out from the receipt printer and Hillside Farmacy receives an email confirming the transaction.
Hillside Farmacy receives the money three days after the customer pays. Some mobile payment processors can be more rapid, but the duration varies depending on the transaction volume, says senior analyst Thad Peterson at payments consulting firm Aite Group. Since Zapper isn’t capturing a ton of the restaurant’s money, every three days is an OK interval, Balderas says. The restaurant also receives a report of all the transactions during that time period. Balderas can confirm the amount he gets from Zapper is correct based on the emailed confirmations he receives.
Initially, this made Balderas hesitate about using Zapper, since the restaurant had problems in the past with other mobile payment apps. For example, in one instance with a previous payment app, the payment didn’t go through. The app provider didn’t receive the customer’s money and thus neither did Hillside Farmacy.
“We were concerned with transferring the money—money that’s ours in someone else’s hands—but so far, we’ve been using them a while, we haven’t had any problem,” Balderas says, adding that Zapper will claim responsibility for all technical errors and front the money.
On average, Balderas estimates that paying using the QR code saves diners between five and eight minutes. During the restaurant’s peak times, such as during Sunday brunch when several large tables all want to split the check, the app could save as much as 20 minutes, he says.
“It’s convenient for the guest and convenient for the employee as well,” Balderas says.
About five customers a day use Zapper, Balderas says, a number he hopes increases. Most customers find out about Zapper by noticing the QR code on the receipt and asking the server about it, says Josh Livesay, who is the general manager at Southern Hospitality Hell’s Kitchen, which also uses Zapper. Watching a fellow diner use the app also spurs more use, Balderas says
“This past weekend there was a table of 10 girls and one person did it. When everyone saw it took her less than five minutes to pay, everyone ended up doing it,” Balderas says. “Slowly we are getting more and more.”
It took about a week for Hillside Farmacy to set up the system, which mostly included gathering paper work and showing the servers how it worked, Balderas said. Zapper charges no set up fees and is free to implement.
Follow mobile business journalist April Dahlquist, associate editor, mobile, at Mobile Strategies 360, @Mobile360April
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