Value of mobile payment apps in restaurants still to be realised
Restaurants are putting more emphasis on mobile payments, however, some experts believe there is a limit to the effectiveness of the technology in a restaurant context. President of payment systems at Heartland Commerce, Christopher Sebes, said mobile payments in restaurants are "a solution in search of a problem. It's not hard to pull out your wallet and swipe a credit card." Toast CEO Chris Comparato says that as users realise the value of extended features offered by mobile payment apps, such as providing menus, ordering options, access to loyalty schemes and the like, will eventually see mobile payments win out over cash or card transactions.

Experts Divided on Mobile Payments’ Role in Restaurants’ Future

January 31, 2017 By: Steven Anderson

More and more restaurants are putting emphasis on mobile payments these days, and not without good reason.

There are a lot of exciting new options here, and businesses are taking full advantage of the ability to let customers pay for a meal without having to route payment through a cashier. Some experts, however, believe that there’s a limit to mobile payments’ effectiveness in restaurants, and some are actually pushing that envelope already.

Heartland Commerce’s president of payment systems, Christopher Sebes, makes a clear point that consolidates much of the anti-mobile expert opinion. Sebes says “It’s a solution in search of a problem. It’s not hard to pull out your wallet and swipe a credit card.” Sebes then goes on to note “If I’m going to download an app, I have to have a reason to download the app.”

Point-of-sale system Toast’s top brass, meanwhile, makes it clear that mobile payments for restaurants are still in early days, looking for the numbers to start “creep(ing) up” in the next five years, according to projections from Toast co-founder Steve Fredette.

Toast’s CEO Chris Comparato rang a note of assent, saying that this was still the “early adopter” phase and that apps could “improve customer experience and help a restaurant win in their market.”

The problem that folks like Sebes don’t quite catch—and he was almost there—is that mobile payments apps aren’t just about payments. If they were, there wouldn’t be much sense in having them because anyone could just pull out a wad of cash or a card instead.

Customers, however, have a reason to download that app, just as Sebes said. Restaurant mobile payments systems don’t stop at paying the check; they also supply menus, offer mobile ordering options, offer additional information about the food’s calorie counts and the like, loyalty program access and more.

This is what makes mobile payments the future of restaurants. While cash and credit cards will still be in play, mobile payments systems will eventually offer so many options that having the mobile payment app will seem like a value in its own right. When the app delivers more value than the convenience of cash or card, then mobile payments will truly be the future.