Imagine your waiters and waitresses walking to a table, taking a customer's orders, and never having to run around from table to table at the end of meals, collecting credit cards, swiping them, pulling out receipts to sign, and carrying extra pens in their pocket. No more bulky, troublesome credit card machines, network errors, or embarrassing conversations with patrons whose credit cards were "declined."

How is this possible?

The emergence of mobile payments is fast becoming the new way to process payments, and will undoubtedly one day eclipse the use of plastic debit credit cards. Mobile payments utilize a wireless payment system via a virtual terminal. If you open up your restaurant to these mobile card payments, customers can sit at their tables, verify their bill, and pay it without ever handing over debit cards or credit cards to your servers.

1 - Efficiencies

There are several advantages to this type of payment service. It reduces the amount of time the server has to spend collecting a credit card from customers, swiping it, returning it, and then picking up the signed copy. With a virtual payment, the customer can have their receipt forwarded to an email address to print if desired, or receive it in the form of a text message. This also reduces paper wastage, and saves time, which then frees your servers to take on more customers.

The goal with any restaurant is to increase turnover rate, while maintaining a very high level of customer satisfaction and efficiency. Implementing a mobile payment solution will not only provide the efficiencies that your restaurant requires, but leaving the customer feeling satisfied and confident in their choice of payment.

2 – Customer loyalty

Mobile payments could also increase customer satisfaction, driving more traffic to your restaurant. An eatery that lets you pay through your phone is bound to be popular, and word of mouth will spread, giving your restaurant more exposure.

Customers typically want to be in and out of a restaurant, making a virtual payment system ideal for patron. Understanding that mobile payments are becoming an every increasing payment technology will allow your business to grow with customer expectations.

3 – Payment Options

The EMV certified and PCI compliant wireless terminal that allows pay-at-table service is still a requirement for any restaurant, however that is not to say that your restaurant cannot provide options to your patrons. When there are more than one payment options available at the end of a meal, it gives the opportunity for the patron to decide how they would like to pay. This is not only a great benefit and value add to your business, but will definitely increase the likely hood of those patrons coming back in the future.

Perhaps the best way to go about switching to this form of payment is to accept both manual credit cards and mobile payments as well. Patrons who are less tech-savvy may not want to get rid of their Visas and Master Cards, so it would be smart to keep this option open. But to really push your establishment into the future and reach out the new generation of smartphone users, mobile payment looks like economical, progress-minded way to go.