ASK Italian, Zizzi and Carluccio’s introduce mobile payment
The brands will join Wagamana in signing up to Mastercard’s Qkr! With Masterpass app – which allows users to share and pay restaurant bills - by the end of 2015.
Mastercard is also set to launch a new mobile ordering option for the app enabling diners to browse menus on their phone.
It is the latest in the surge of mobile payment options appearing in restaurants nationwide. London-based app Cake – which is live in more than 20 venues including The Rum Kitchen in Soho - has more than tripled its crowdfunding target towards expansion.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Prezzo signed up to Paypal’s mobile app last year, and in June Bookatable.com became the first online booking service to introduce the pay-at-table function.
Azzurri Group – which owns ASK Italian and Zizzi – said it adopted mobile payments after customer feedback showed splitting the bill was a ‘pain point’ for diners.
“We know that [customers] are looking for faster and more convenient ways to pay," said Doug Wooten, head of IT for the Azzurri Group.
"By working with MasterCard and implementing Qkr! our restaurant teams can focus on delivering great service to customers.”
Barclaycard has reported that cashless payments have tripled in the past year, with restaurants now accounting for 20 per cent of all transactions.
Many operators are still failing to meet customer expectations in terms of technology, with a 2015 survey of members of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) revealing that just 24 per cent were able to offer tablet or mobile ordering options and only 59 per cent could take cashless payments.
