Reading University introduces self-serve 16-tap ‘beer wall’ — The Telegraph — “With students able to pour themselves a beer and pay with their contactless plastic or mobile wallet, the bars will have increased capacity, speedier service and a reduced threat of theft, claims Drink Command, the company behind the self-serve beer technology, which is also being rolled out in other bars across the UK and Ireland, including in Hilton Hotels.”
Food service
New interactive technology to trace your food from field to fork
New interactive technology to trace your food from field to fork — Soil Association — “Using three types of labels and identifiers; barcode, QR code and NFC tags, shoppers simply scan or hover their smart phones to find out the unique journey behind their food. This includes information about its origin, ingredients, and any special attributes such as organic, gluten-free, dairy-free etc. Photos of the product’s creation, as well as farmer or producer profiles can be viewed too.”
Barclaycard marks the 10th anniversary of introducing contactless payments to the UK
Barclaycard marks the 10th anniversary of introducing contactless payments to the UK — Barclaycard — “Ten years on, over £60bn (US$77.67bn) has been spent using contactless and more than half of eligible transactions up to the £30 (US$38.83) limit are now made using the technology… Nine in 10 eligible transactions in fast food outlets (91%) and pubs and bars (89%) are now made using contactless.”
New Little Caesars Reserve-n-Ready service transforms the way customers pick up pizza
New Little Caesars Reserve-n-Ready service transforms the way customers pick up pizza — Little Caesars — “Customers just place an order and pre-pay via the Little Caesars mobile app. The app will notify the customer when the order is ready. When the customer arrives at the store, they skip the line and go directly to the Pizza Portal and input a three-digit pin or scan a QR code. Then, the door on the customer’s secured compartment opens, and they take their hot, fresh order.”
Amazon Pay Places lets you pay for real-world shopping using your Amazon info
Amazon Pay Places lets you pay for real-world shopping using your Amazon info — Techcrunch — “Amazon is today introducing a new feature called Amazon Pay Places, that allows customers to pay for in-store and order ahead shopping experiences using their Amazon app… Instead of using cash, check, credit or debit while shopping out in the real world, you can just use your Amazon account information. The first implementation of Pay Places involves a partnership with the TGI Friday’s restaurant chain.”
Alibaba’s self-service Tao Cafe takes e-shopping offline
Alibaba’s self-service Tao Cafe takes e-shopping offline — Xinhua — “Entry into Tao Cafe in Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province, is through ticket gates similar to those at subway stations, however, customers scan their smart phones instead of tickets… The 200-square-meter store offering beverages, fast food and snacks can accommodate 50 customers at a time. To enter and make a purchase, shoppers require only a smart phone with Alibaba’s Taobao ecommerce app.”
Punchh brings Apple Pay to restaurant loyalty program
Punchh brings Apple Pay to restaurant loyalty program — Punchh — “Users visiting participating restaurants will soon be able to not only pay for their purchases, but earn and redeem rewards and loyalty points using Apple Wallet… Brands including Smashburger, Quiznos, and MOD Pizza will be offering Apple Pay with the Punchh integrated solution starting later this year.”
NXP issues statement of support for NFC tag reading on Apple devices
PARTNER NEWS: NXP is “excited about the expanding number of users of NFC applications” following the announcement made by Apple earlier this week that it is to add support for NFC tag reading to its iPhone 7, 7 Plus and Apple Watch devices... More
Barclaycard trials shopping app that lets customers use their smartphone as ‘pocket checkout’
Employees at UK bank Barclays and Barclaycard’s London office have begun piloting a new payment concept that allows them to buy low-value goods in the staff restaurant by scanning the barcode on the items using their smartphone and completing the purchase “with a single click” without needing to visit the physical checkout. More
Bakeries, pubs and bars top UK contactless payment locations
The highest percentage of contactless payments across the UK are taking place in bakeries (62.5%) followed by pubs and bars (48.2%), caterers (47.8%), takeaway restaurants (45.5%), news dealers and newsstands (44.9%) and restaurants with 42.7%, research released by merchant services provider Paymentsense reveals. More
UK restaurant chains test digital mobile banking receipts tied to customer purchases
Restaurant chains Eat and Bel-Air are piloting a service in their London locations that delivers real-time receipts to a customer’s mobile banking app by linking to the purchases they make using their bank cards at the retailer’s point-of-sale terminal. The service is also being trialled by UK challenger bank Monzo. More
WeChat Pay and offline mobile payments see “incredibly high” uptake in China
Nine in ten Chinese mobile internet users (92%) choose mobile payment apps such as WeChat Pay as their primary offline payment method today, research released by Tencent Online Media Group’s newly launched research project China Tech Insights reveals, while “smartphone built-in payment tools” such as Apple Pay are currently used by approximately 12%. More
Singapore banks add in-store QR code payments to mobile apps
Customers of Singapore’s DBS Bank and OCBC Bank will soon be able to make in-store mobile payments by scanning a QR code at any point-of-sale terminal belonging to the country’s electronic payments network Nets. More
Mastercard rolls out Messenger payment bots with US retailers
Subway, FreshDirect and The Cheesecake Factory have begun rolling out payment bots for Facebook Messenger across the US, allowing their customers to secure and complete payments using Mastercard’s Masterpass digital payment platform without having to leave the instant messaging service. More
Dunkin’ Donuts customers get mobile ordering through Google’s navigation app
Customers of coffee chain Dunkin’ Donuts across the US can now place orders and complete a payment before leaving the house using their mobile phone and a new feature that has been added to Google-owned traffic and navigation app Waze. More
US airport stores to automatically file expense reports for business travellers
Business travellers will soon be able to make in-store purchases at select retailers and restaurants inside three US airports and have their expenses automatically submitted on their behalf through the point-of-sale system so that they “don’t need to worry about creating an expense claim down the line”. More
McDonald’s adds mobile ordering in the UK
Customers at select McDonald’s restaurants across the UK can now order ahead using their mobile phone... More
Starbucks takes mobile payments to India
Starbucks customers in India can now use their phones to pay for orders and earn loyalty program ‘Stars’ following the launch of the Starbucks India app... More
Pizza Hut unveils pizza-ordering shoes
Pizza Hut has unveiled a pair of shoes with a button that lets wearers order pizza and get it delivered... More
UK sees 250% rise in NFC mobile payments in stores
The number of mobile transactions as a percentage of all in-store transactions has grown by 247% in the UK over the last year, analysis of transaction data and a consumer survey conducted by payments processor Worldpay has found. Workers paying for lunch on the go and payments for drinks in bars are the main drivers of the increase in transaction volume. More