New terminal could bring Apple Pay to more restaurant tables

Posted:
in iPhone
A new payments terminal, E la Carte's PrestoPrime EMV, could potentially bring Apple Pay to more restaurants, and let people pay for food and drinks without either a card or interacting with a waiter.




The terminal sports dual processors with one dedicated to payments, E la Carte said, and can even temporarily save some data locally in case of a power failure, forwarding it later once an internet connection is back. In addition to Apple Pay, it also supports Android Pay and Samsung Pay, plus less direct mobile payment methods by way of a camera and QR code reader.

For card-based transactions the device supports both chips and magnetic stripes, with a PIN pad and signatures. Before or during a meal it can provide entertainment like games and video.

The PrestoPrime EMV's predecessor is said to be in use at over 1,800 U.S. restaurants, including chains like Applebee's. While restaurants are unlikely to upgrade en masse, a gradual changeover during the next few years could see Apple Pay become more prominent.

Traditionally Apple Pay has been limited to fixed point-of-sale terminals, or handheld readers like those from Square. At restaurants, waiters may sometimes have to bring a reader to a table for people to pay.

Platforms like Apple Pay and PayPal so far appear to be winning out over QR-based options. Recently MCX sold off assets from CurrentC, a failed QR-based challenger to Apple Pay, to JPMorgan Chase. The latter company is working on a system called Chase Pay.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    chiachia Posts: 713member
    I think it's fair to say that in the UK and from my experience, other countries in Europe, it is customary for the waiting staff to bring the card machine to the table or failing that, and increasingly more rarely, for the bill payer to go to the counter to pay. And yes, portable contactless (NFC) payment terminals have become quite common in the UK, though not quite ubiquitous in the restaurants.  It is surprising to see from this viewpoint, how prolonged and protracted the rollout of NFC and contactless payments has become in the USA, though in fairness, the USA has a much larger population and land area than any single European country. Presumably there are also 50 different financial rules from each of the 50 states to comply with when attempting to rollout a nationwide system in the USA.
    jbishop1039jbdragon
  • Reply 2 of 25
    I had an opportunity to play with one of these at an Olive Garden recently. From what I could tell, it wasn't hard-wired into a phone or ethernet jack.

    So it's utilizing bluetooth or some other wireless connection to send CC info? Pardon my ignorance, but are these terminals at risk for RFID Skimming? :#
  • Reply 3 of 25
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    I had an opportunity to play with one of these at an Olive Garden recently. From what I could tell, it wasn't hard-wired into a phone or ethernet jack.

    So it's utilizing bluetooth or some other wireless connection to send CC info? Pardon my ignorance, but are these terminals at risk for RFID Skimming? :#
    Who cares? The CC company is on the hook for unauthorized charges.

    i know everyone hates the CC networks, but they are incentivized to provide and enforce top notch security because they are left holding the bag when security falls down.


  • Reply 4 of 25
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    The latter company is working on a system called Chase Pay.
    What a dreadful moniker.

    But...anything to get more terminals in use. 
  • Reply 5 of 25
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    Here's the question on everyone's tongue, but no one has brought it up yet:

    What's up with the two women in the photo drinking cocktails and the two, mostly off-frame men sipping pints of water? Seems kinda creepy. Get the ladies drunk, quietly pay the terminal, sneak them out the back way and who knows what after that?

    weird propping choice, at the least.
    StrangeDayschiaeightzero
  • Reply 6 of 25
    I envision wait-persons getting stiffed for tips much more frequently with a system like this. Less face-to-face to remind you that a real person waited on you.
  • Reply 7 of 25
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,844member
    Pardon my ignorance, but are these terminals at risk for RFID Skimming? :#
    Skimming is not a problem for Apple Pay -- tokenization FTW.
    jbdragonchiasergiozlostkiwiwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 25
    sog35 said:
    stickista said:
    I envision wait-persons getting stiffed for tips much more frequently with a system like this. Less face-to-face to remind you that a real person waited on you.
    which is good.

    Why should i pay 20% simply for someone bringing me my food? Tipping in resturants are getting out of hand.

    Its basically a guilt trip. Get crappy service and you still have to pay 20% or else your receipt ends up on twitter.

    I'm sorry but a basic touch screen can do everything a waitress can do in MOST RESTURANTS. Unless you have special needs or have no idea what to buy, no tip is needed.

    When I eat its simple. Order food. Done. Bring me my food. Bring me my check. Literally takes the waiter 1 minute of labor. Why the hell am I paying friken 20% for that level of non-service?
    In your case if you are eating alone you actually should tip more because you are nothing but opportunity cost to the waiter. She/he could be waiting on a table of four but instead got you. 

    Where I agree with you 100% is tipping a waiter at a buffet setting. 
  • Reply 9 of 25
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,844member
    sog35 said:
    stickista said:
    I envision wait-persons getting stiffed for tips much more frequently with a system like this. Less face-to-face to remind you that a real person waited on you.
    Its basically a guilt trip. Get crappy service and you still have to pay 20% or else your receipt ends up on twitter.
    Completely false. Fake news. Alternative facts. Sad.
    eightzeropolymnia
  • Reply 10 of 25
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    chia said:
    I think it's fair to say that in the UK and from my experience, other countries in Europe, it is customary for the waiting staff to bring the card machine to the table or failing that, and increasingly more rarely, for the bill payer to go to the counter to pay. And yes, portable contactless (NFC) payment terminals have become quite common in the UK, though not quite ubiquitous in the restaurants.  It is surprising to see from this viewpoint, how prolonged and protracted the rollout of NFC and contactless payments has become in the USA, though in fairness, the USA has a much larger population and land area than any single European country. Presumably there are also 50 different financial rules from each of the 50 states to comply with when attempting to rollout a nationwide system in the USA.
    I was stunned when in Australia recently how many restaurants, nice ones, I had to pay at the center on my way out. As for the US, I believe it's the cost of investing in the new technology which prevents local merchants from investing into this technology more readily. That and the restaurant model has always involved a lengthy ritual whereby the card comes and goes a few times, leading to confusion about how the transaction will be handled, and especially how the server will be tipped. The larger chains yes, and even they aren't going to be eager to spend the money over what already works, in a very competitive business, where profits are slim and success rates are low. 
    jbdragon
  • Reply 11 of 25
    chiachia Posts: 713member
    sog35 said:
    Its absolutely NUTS that in the USA they take your credit card away from you sight and don't come back for 5+ minutes.

    They can easily take a picture of your credit card and security code. And people wonder why credit card fraud is so high.
    I've seen in the UK consumer advocates and law enforcement recommend you never let your cards out of your sight.  It doesn't take long for a rogue employee to "skim" your card details using a rogue device or to even swap your card for an identical looking blocked or even counterfeit card.

    I think I may even have been a victim of card skimming about ten years ago when I was getting a flight from Prague Airport.  I noticed the employee in a shop there fumble with my card under the counter after she had already processed it through the machine on top of the counter.  A few days later I noticed an extra charge to the account from a business I'd never been to in the Czech Republic. Whilst the airport shop had a chip and pin machine I presume she had a rogue card mag stripe swipe device under the counter.  I guess when you're advised not to let the card go out of sight, they really do mean out of sight!

    I believe it's been noticed that criminals would actually take from countries cards which use the EMV chip and pin system to countries with less secure mag stripe swipe only systems.  The move of USA cards to the EMV chip system and  Pay should actually help to cut card fraud not just in the USA but internationally.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 25
    sog35 said:
    stickista said:
    I envision wait-persons getting stiffed for tips much more frequently with a system like this. Less face-to-face to remind you that a real person waited on you.
    which is good.

    Why should i pay 20% simply for someone bringing me my food? Tipping in resturants are getting out of hand.

    Its basically a guilt trip. Get crappy service and you still have to pay 20% or else your receipt ends up on twitter.

    I'm sorry but a basic touch screen can do everything a waitress can do in MOST RESTURANTS. Unless you have special needs or have no idea what to buy, no tip is needed.

    When I eat its simple. Order food. Done. Bring me my food. Bring me my check. Literally takes the waiter 1 minute of labor. Why the hell am I paying friken 20% for that level of non-service?
    I've done all I can, and simply don't go out to eat anymore. If we're not cooking it, we take out. And these days almost every place is forced to offer a Take Out option, or lose business.

    I'm with you 100%. Tipping is beyond ridiculous. Restaurants are getting away with murder. Charging obscene prices for food, and then not even paying their staff, and making that a separate responsibility of the customer. Insane.
    edited March 2017 lostkiwi
  • Reply 13 of 25
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    Pardon my ignorance, but are these terminals at risk for RFID Skimming? :#
    Skimming is not a problem for Apple Pay -- tokenization FTW.
    I know right! NFC payments of all types using the same tokenization is awesome. 
  • Reply 14 of 25
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    sog35 said:
    stickista said:
    I envision wait-persons getting stiffed for tips much more frequently with a system like this. Less face-to-face to remind you that a real person waited on you.
    which is good.

    Why should i pay 20% simply for someone bringing me my food? Tipping in resturants are getting out of hand.

    Its basically a guilt trip. Get crappy service and you still have to pay 20% or else your receipt ends up on twitter.

    I'm sorry but a basic touch screen can do everything a waitress can do in MOST RESTURANTS. Unless you have special needs or have no idea what to buy, no tip is needed.

    When I eat its simple. Order food. Done. Bring me my food. Bring me my check. Literally takes the waiter 1 minute of labor. Why the hell am I paying friken 20% for that level of non-service?
    Umm.......No. By far my favorite meal was at Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas and there is no way only a "basic touch screen" could do everything a professional server could do. A Sixteen course dinner with a bottle wine service amongst many other things.  No way a "basic touch screen" could give me that type of experience. 
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 15 of 25
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    sog35 said:
    chia said:
    I think it's fair to say that in the UK and from my experience, other countries in Europe, it is customary for the waiting staff to bring the card machine to the table or failing that, and increasingly more rarely, for the bill payer to go to the counter to pay. And yes, portable contactless (NFC) payment terminals have become quite common in the UK, though not quite ubiquitous in the restaurants.  It is surprising to see from this viewpoint, how prolonged and protracted the rollout of NFC and contactless payments has become in the USA, though in fairness, the USA has a much larger population and land area than any single European country. Presumably there are also 50 different financial rules from each of the 50 states to comply with when attempting to rollout a nationwide system in the USA.
    Its absolutely NUTS that in the USA they take your credit card away from you sight and don't come back for 5+ minutes.

    They can easily take a picture of your credit card and security code. And people wonder why credit card fraud is so high.
    And it's the least likely place for that type of fraud. 
  • Reply 16 of 25
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    I had an opportunity to play with one of these at an Olive Garden recently. From what I could tell, it wasn't hard-wired into a phone or ethernet jack.

    So it's utilizing bluetooth or some other wireless connection to send CC info? Pardon my ignorance, but are these terminals at risk for RFID Skimming? :#
    Would never go into a Olive Garden. Guess that's why I've never seen one of these and hope not to ever see one. I don't want that nasty things coming to my table and disrupting my guests. 
  • Reply 17 of 25
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    sog35 said:
    stickista said:
    I envision wait-persons getting stiffed for tips much more frequently with a system like this. Less face-to-face to remind you that a real person waited on you.
    which is good.

    Why should i pay 20% simply for someone bringing me my food? Tipping in resturants are getting out of hand.

    Its basically a guilt trip. Get crappy service and you still have to pay 20% or else your receipt ends up on twitter.

    I'm sorry but a basic touch screen can do everything a waitress can do in MOST RESTURANTS. Unless you have special needs or have no idea what to buy, no tip is needed.

    When I eat its simple. Order food. Done. Bring me my food. Bring me my check. Literally takes the waiter 1 minute of labor. Why the hell am I paying friken 20% for that level of non-service?
    I've done all I can, and simply don't go out to eat anymore. If we're not cooking it, we take out. And these days almost every place is forced to offer a Take Out option, or lose business.

    I'm with you 100%. Tipping is beyond ridiculous. Restaurants are getting away with murder. Charging obscene prices for food, and then not even paying their staff, and making that a separate responsibility of the customer. Insane.
    You must not enjoy the fine food amazing chef's can create. Going out to a nice dinner with friends is a favorite time of mine. 
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 18 of 25
    chia said:
    sog35 said:
    Its absolutely NUTS that in the USA they take your credit card away from you sight and don't come back for 5+ minutes.

    They can easily take a picture of your credit card and security code. And people wonder why credit card fraud is so high.

    I think I may even have been a victim of card skimming about ten years ago when I was getting a flight from Prague Airport.  I noticed the employee in a shop there fumble with my card under the counter after she had already processed it through the machine on top of the counter.  A few days later I noticed an extra charge to the account from a business I'd never been to in the Czech Republic. Whilst the airport shop had a chip and pin machine I presume she had a rogue card mag stripe swipe device under the counter.  I guess when you're advised not to let the card go out of sight, they really do mean out of sight!

    Things have changed a lot in the last ten years in Czech Republic and I suspect it's because of the rife fraud before that. It went to 100% chip and pin first but now I would guess that 99% of places that accept cards have contactless terminals. You never need to hand over a card and they generally bring terminals to the table at restaurants. I'm always blown away when travelling to "more developed" countries how few places have contactless terminals.
  • Reply 19 of 25
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    polymnia said:
    Here's the question on everyone's tongue, but no one has brought it up yet:

    What's up with the two women in the photo drinking cocktails and the two, mostly off-frame men sipping pints of water? Seems kinda creepy. Get the ladies drunk, quietly pay the terminal, sneak them out the back way and who knows what after that?

    weird propping choice, at the least.
    Could be that it's the chaps' turn to drive, so they're drinking water. Clever way to advertise your product and slot in a quick "drink responsibly" message at the same time. 
  • Reply 20 of 25
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    The problem with NFC is the £40 limit. I haven't seen a restaurant bill for less than forty quid in years. 


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