Payment Security Technology Showcase

According to Hospitality Technology research, security is mission critical for restaurant and hotels. Consistently among the top five strategic goals for technology investments, restaurants and hotels are bullish on making sure that technology investments are secure to protect both customers and brand reputation. HT’s annual technology studies reveal that 33% of restaurants say payment security is a top objective for tech investments in 2019 and hotels place improving security as a very important priority.
 

In this Payment Security Technology Showcase, HT presents potential buyers with leading payment solutions at a time when they are looking to make changes or upgrades to payment systems.

Payment Security, Mission: Critical  

Hotels and restaurants make strides in technology investments for payment security, but is it enough?

Research reveals a marked increase in technology budget allocations to security practices in 2019 compared to 2017. This trend is mirrored in both the restaurant industry and hotel industry as brands seek to improve convenience for guests while allowing them to order and pay in the way they choose. Enabling these payment methods, requires a hyper focus on security, lest a brand becomes the latest name in a breach headline.

According to Hospitality Technology’s Hotel Technology Study, eight out of nine payment security practices saw an increase in implementation over a two-year period.

In 2019, 70% of hoteliers have upgraded their terminals and implemented the appropriate systems for EMV/chip cards. Only 44% of respondents had done so in 2017’s study. This could account for the decrease in POS budget allocations for 2019 – as hotels have now made hefty investments in the point of sale.

Examining hotel security practices, only two fall under the 50% mark. Compare this to 2017 when only slightly more than half (56%) of hotels were regularly testing systems. In the case of payment security hotels have been making investments, but is it enough? At press time, Marriott was the most recent victim of a high-profile incident, with the hotel group announcing that a hack that began in 2014 had exposed the records of up to 500 million customers in its Starwood hotels reservation system. 

“As criminals get smarter, we need to continue to evolve as well,” says Mike Dickersbach, Director of IT Capitol, HEI Hotels. “ At the end of the day, our vertical will need to continue to have security in focus from the minute someone steps foot onto hotel grounds, or arrives on an internet site or app managed by the hotel or brand.  If an exploit exists, it will be used.”  

On the restaurant side, innovation agendas are closely tied to improvement in payment technologies. Three of the top five investments on restaurant’s innovation agendas for 2019 according to the Restaurant Technology Study are mobile payments (46%), digital ordering (45%) and tableside ordering/payment devices (34%).  

When considering strategic goals, 33% of digital engagement innovators put enhancing payment security as a top objective goal for technology investments. Digital engagement leaders are also more likely to already be EMV compliant – as 67% say they have upgraded terminals. On the whole, 40% of restaurants claim to be EMV compliant, while 44% plan to upgrade terminals within the next two years.

PRIORITY HOSPITALITY TECHNOLOGY, LLC.

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