4min
Find out how QR code payment works in restaurants and the 6 benefits of online payments for restaurant owners.
Since 2020, we’ve been using technology to face an important challenge: how to communicate and interact… without physical contact? When you know that money passing from hand to hand can lead to the spread of diseases, finding innovative payment methods becomes a matter of urgency.
Whether remotely or in public spaces, we’re constantly trying to do more with less touching. Enter QR codes: the most innovative solution for contactless payments.
QR codes are not particularly new, it’s true: they’ve been around since 1994. But the thing is, they hadn’t revealed their full potential until today. They were deemed too complicated to use and most of us even found them a bit outdated.
Low and behold: QR codes are making a big comeback in shops, on billboards, all the way to our NHS COVID pass. QR codes are especially versatile: they can be used for marketing purposes, to share important information or to track infections.
But most of all, they’re a great payment method… that can be particularly well suited for restaurants. We think restaurants have a lot to lose by not using them. In this article, we’ll tell you how to do it and we’ll explain why we think QR codes are the best payment method there is.
You can’t use what you don’t understand. Before explaining what online payments by QR code are, we’re telling you what a QR code is in less than a minute.
The concept is quite simple: QR codes allow you to encode precise data in small printed squares. This is why they’re also called 2D codes (or 2 dimensions). What information is stored in these small squares?
Well, an internet link that allows you to open a webpage or an app that has been predetermined by the person who has created the code. QR codes are easy to use and are copyright-free: anyone can create their own QR code on the internet.
Integrating data into a printed code is not a revolutionary idea: barcodes are on almost every product we buy. Here’s what sets QR codes apart: barcodes can only be read with specific laser scanners (equipment that only professionals have).
The real revolution of the two-dimensional QR code is that it can be read by a smartphone. Most operating systems don’t even require you to download a dedicated app! If you have an internet connection, you just need to aim your camera at the QR code and voilà!
You already know that you can use a QR code to redirect a user to a webpage or app. You might even already use it to allow your customers to access a PDF menu. But QR code payments remain a mystery to you.
Actually, there are multiple ways to do this, but all of them are based on a process called remote payment: being able to accept or make payments over the internet.
When a customer scans the QR code, they’re automatically redirected to a payment portal. It can be a webpage or an online payment app (Venmo or Paypal for instance).
If you do things right, the amount each customer has to pay will be automatically displayed on that page. Otherwise, the user will have to enter the amount themselves.
They will also have to fill in their credit card information (unless it is already recorded by the browser or the webapp) and pay as if they were ordering something on the internet (it’s the exact same protocol as for non-store retailing).
You can also do it the other way around: some payment applications allow users to pay the amount they owe online before generating a QR code that can be scanned by the retailer as a proof of payment. This method is mostly used by supermarkets or stores.
At this point, you may feel that QR code payments are really not for you, or for any restaurant owner, as a matter of fact. You find it hard to believe it might be suited to the fast-paced and hectic environment of a restaurant.
How do you make sure that each table is redirected to an electronic tab that contains what they consumed? Will a new QR code need to be generated each time you want to cash a bill? Will you have to enter the amount manually?
Can you link these QR codes to your POS system? You’re thinking that generating your own QR codes for payment purposes will be a huge waste of time and a huge headache… And you’re right.
That’s why we’ve created sunday. In the wake of the COVID crisis, we developed a technology solution that is both simple and sophisticated.
It integrates with most POS systems and allows each table to pay the bill by scanning a QR code. We started out by helping a few partner restaurants… And they were so pleased that we wanted to spread the solution to other restaurant owners.
If you decide to start using sunday QR codes, you’ll find the setup process to be extremely simple: all you have to do is place the QR codes we send you on the corresponding tables. And you’ll be good to go! Here are some of the positive changes you’ll notice.
We’ve already said it: QR code payments have the notable advantage of being contactless, which means waiters won’t have to handle bills, credit cards or cheques. You’ll be able to avoid needless physical contact in your establishment.
Most innovative payment solutions require you to splurge on a dedicated payment terminal. Not QR codes. They’re particularly economical: the only payment terminal you’ll need is your users’ smartphone.
QR code payments allow you to take the burden of managing payments off your staff. They won’t even have to bring the tab to the table: all bills will be automatically generated by sunday. Waiters can focus on what they do best: taking care of customers.
As for customers, they will no longer have to wait for waiters to bring them the bill. They’ll simply scan the QR code and pay whenever they want to, and leave the tables as soon as they are ready to go.
The minutes spent waiting for the bill while all you can think about is going home is a thing of the past. By offering your customers this simple and fast payment method, you’ll increase customer satisfaction.
Using QR codes to pay the bill is so easy that it can encourage your customers to consume more: restaurant owners who use sunday have seen their average basket increase by 12%!
The icing on the cake: restaurants that use sunday have seen a 40% increase in tips: customers are so happy that they are more generous. Wait till your staff hears this!
But you don’t have to take our word for it: find out here how sunday helped so many businesses be more efficient!
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Your customers can view the menu and pay the bill in 10 seconds
