November POS Recap: What's Hot in Point of Sale Headlines

12/1/2014
Mobility and security continue to be top-of-mind for the point of sale in November. A new study from Cornell proves that restaurant technology is ready to explode as customers are ready to embrace the latest in payment options. This report is in keeping with research from the National Restaurant Association that revealed that overall technology use in restaurants is increasing and that 32% would use a smartphone app to pay checks. Boston Pizza drives its loyalty enrollment with a mobile program that integrates with POS and online ordering systems. These stories, and more, are presented here in Hospitality Technology’s November POS recap.
 
New POS Gives Operators Control over Delivery Areas and Fees
The newest release of SpeedLine restaurant point of sale software maximizes delivery revenue with accurate fees and zones. The release allows restaurant operators to adjust zone boundaries by hand on a map — for perfect zones and fees that reflect the true cost of delivery. The new release also calculates driver mileage reimbursement based on best route in current traffic conditions—for accurate and equitable driver compensation with no room for driver abuse or argument. On top of that, operators can edit delivery zones and fees in seconds, at any time and at no cost, to adjust for new development, construction, or other factors.
 
Focus POS Announces Apple Pay Integration
Focus POS, provider of restaurant point of sale software, has announced the integration of Apple Pay into their restaurant management software.  Apple Pay, a mobile payment service that turns cell phones into digital wallets, was released on October 20, 2014, to go along with the newest iPhone product.
 
Restaurant Payment Tech: Set to Explode
Not long ago, neither restaurant operators nor their customers seemed willing to use payment technology systems for check settlement. How times have changed, at least for customers (and probably for restaurateurs as well). A new study from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research has found that U.S. restaurant customers seem ready to forge ahead with technology-based check settlement. The study compared the ratings of nearly 1,300 consumers on how they felt about paying their restaurant bill using a smartphone, a dedicated table-top system, or the traditional system of handing over a credit card. The survey rated those three settlement methods according to eight measurements—and technology won on all eight of them.
 
Handheld, Wireless Solution Allows Restaurants to Enhance Service
First Data has unveiled Clover Mobile, a powerful new mobile point-of-sale (POS) business solution that brings new flexibility and versatility to the Clover family. Clover Mobile enables more personal consumer engagement for innovative small- to mid-sized businesses by taking the functionality of the popular Clover Station off the counter and on to the floor.
 
iPad Hospitality Ordering System Improves Security
NorthStar Order Entry, the iPad hospitality ordering system developed by Custom Business Solutions, will now offer increased security protection with the addition of the innovative MagTek DynaPro Mini card swipe and PIN entry device.
 
POS Software Provides Flexibility and System Integration for Ted's Cafe
Ted’s CafÉ Escondido has selected and rolled out a complete NCR Corporation restaurant technology solution to help improve the operational efficiency of its business across its growing sites. Ted’s CafÉ Escondido currently uses NCR point-of-sale (POS) software and technology, kitchen production, employee theft detection, above-store reporting, labor scheduling and mobile analytics solutions. Ted’s CafÉ Escondido chose this robust solution portfolio for the ability to integrate data and information across multiple platforms, including Ted’s CafÉ Escondido’s accounting system and general ledger.
 
Heartland Acquires Xpient Solutions
Heartland Payment Systems has acquired foodservice industry enterprise-level POS (point of sale) software provider, XPIENT Solutions. XPIENT provides advanced technology to 11 of the top 25 quick service and fast casual restaurant brands, including Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Panera Bread, and Panda Express. With more than 25,000 installed locations and $15 billion in annual credit/debit card processing volume, XPIENT’s solutions for large merchants that need enterprise functionality complement Heartland’s suite of technology solutions for the hospitality industry as well as its core card processing business.
 
Boston Pizza Drives Loyalty Enrollment with Integrated Mobile Program
Boston Pizza has selected the Paytronix Rewards platform as the foundation for its new Boston Pizza MyBP Program. Boston Pizza selected Paytronix because of its integration with both the POSitouch point of sale system and the ONOSYS online ordering system.

Research Shows Tech Use in Restaurants on Rise
The National Restaurant Association has released new research during its second annual Restaurant Innovation Summit that shows overall technology use in restaurants is increasing. More than a third of consumers say they are more likely to use technology-related options in restaurants now than two years ago. In addition, a significant number use their smartphones to interact with restaurants on a regular basis, such as ordering delivery, redeeming rewards and paying for meals. Among those consumers, one-third (32 percent) said they would use a smartphone app to pay their check instead of using cash or debit/credit card if offered.

Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill Announces System-wide Roll-out of Tabletop Tablets
Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill has announced a partnership to bring Ziosk tabletop tablets to all 65 Smokey Bones restaurants located across 16 states, primarily in the Eastern U.S. The rollout is expected to be completed by the end of February 2015.
 
Verifone Expands Availability of Secure Commerce Architecture
Verifone has announced the global availability of its secure commerce architecture, designed to significantly reduce merchant exposure to large-scale data breaches, and reduce the certification burden on U.S. merchants, acquirers and other payment providers looking to enable EMV acceptance. Verifone’s secure commerce architecture decouples payment data from the merchant’s point of sale (POS) system (e.g., cash register), and enables encrypted delivery of this data from the payment terminal directly to the merchant’s processor. 
 
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