Mobile Solutions Company CardFree Launches Text-to-Pay & New Merchant App

As restaurants enter the new pandemic era of contactless dining with the public’s preference for takeout and digital ordering services, many restaurants, including smaller mom and pop businesses have encountered the unscrupulous consequences of fraudulent charges, which have had an devastating impact on the already struggling industry. San Francisco-based CardFree––a leading mobile commerce solution founded in 2012––is committed to innovating the future of contactless dining with mobile solutions designed to support restaurants as they adapt and adopt to these new systems in 2021.

With an estimated 47% of all takeout and delivery orders placed via phone, typically requiring a credit card number taken over the phone or swiping a card upon pickup or delivery—the opportunity for credit card fraud is prevalent and a true threat to the industry at large. CardFree's Text-to-Pay solution allows customers with phone-in orders to pay via mobile with a text link sent directly to them by the restaurant that initiates payment and prompts customers to choose payment options such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, or credit cards in seconds. The contactless payment solution directly confronts the issue of credit card fraud and decreases the number of chargeback requests due to the digital trail element– ultimately savingrestaurants utilizing CardFree’s payment platform up to tens of thousands of dollars per week, in addition to eliminating touch points between staff and customers.

The Text-to-Pay feature is a seamless service that can be integrated into a restaurant’s existing POS system, or set up directly from the CardFree Pay App, where restaurants can use their mobile device to initiate payment after orders are placed.

CardFree’s services set up restaurants for success in the current climate of hypersensitivity for heightened health & safety protocols and creates a more efficient and seamless dining experience for consumers, while increasing the bottom-line for restaurant operators. Restaurants using CardFree have seen an overall increase in customer confidence based on their contactless dining experience, with approximately 70% of all customers at CardFree restaurants returning for a second visit.  

“At CardFree, our goal remains to assist the restaurant industry overcome the challenges presented on a daily basis. Our technology solutions, including Text-to-Pay directly address the present issues restauranteurs are facing today, and supports the new path forward for embracing a technology-forward dining experience,” adds Jon Squire, CEO of CardFree. “We stand in solidarity with the industry at large and want to bring revenue back to restaurants that need it to stay afloat.”

Additional CardFree services designed to bring revenue back to restaurants and ensure safety in the new contactless-dining world include:

• Contactless order & pay solution
• Quick implementation that also plugs into a restaurant’s existing processing systems
• Tailormade mobile integrated platform solutions that speak to each individual restaurant’s brand identity and needs
• Access to customer data and analytics to best serve patrons
• Sophisticated, easily integrated add-ons (e.g. loyalty and rewards programs, specials/offers, on-premise ordering).