Diners can use the free-to-download app to pay their bill at any point during their meal using their PayPal account or an existing debit or credit card.
Users simply need to type in a 12-digit code printed on their bill and have the option to add a tip or redeem a voucher before payment.
Once payment has been processed, in less than a minute according to Pizza Express, a message is sent to the restaurant’s EPoS system and an email to the user confirming payment.
Its launch coincides with the rollout of free Wi-Fi and upgraded EPoS facilities across the Italian restaurant chain’s 370-site UK estate.
If successful, the app could revolutionise the way diners pay their restaurant bills in the future.
Mark Angela, chief executive of PizzaExpress said: “We knew there was no point just launching an app for the sake of it, so we waited until we had a system that could genuinely improve our customers’ experience of eating out at PizzaExpress. We believe today’s version does exactly that and we’re looking forward to developing it in the future.”
'Groundbreaking' technology
Operationally, the new app enables Pizza Express to speed up the payment process, therefore turning tables faster, and collect contact details for future marketing purposes.
The app also allows users to find and book a restaurant, view menus, download voucher codes and access receipts.
Cameron McLean, general manager for Merchant Services at PayPal, said, “Over a million UK PayPal customers have made a payment on their handset so combining our payments experience with PizzaExpress’s ground breaking app should be a perfect combination. The line between the high street and the online world is blurring, and innovative brands like PizzaExpress recognise that payment by mobile makes a great service even better.”