POS vendors are leaning towards more industry standard technology where the cashless option is becoming more desirable. Authentication via mobile devices are also realising a lot of attention due to the secure nature of this option. The power of security will now reside at the hands of the customer. eWallets, Cellphone authentication/verification, Pin/Chip cards, QR Codes are becoming the norm.
The flexibility to engage with the customer at table level or point of sale enjoys a more satisfied customer experience, customer loyalty and will more than likely boost sales and decrease order errors, since it is a more efficient system.
Restaurant operators are constantly working to continue and improve their compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The major elements of PCI DSS 3.0 call for the development of operational processes and practices that allow merchants to be proactive in their approach to data security. Merchants should be able to audit endpoints, and networks, for deviations from the norm in real-time, versus reacting to incidents after they’ve taken place. Currently experts are saying that a majority of organizations are overwhelmingly ready for PCI DSS 3.0, and more than 40 percent of respondents to the Hospitality Technology survey consider PCI Compliance a key business driver.
There is a strong push among restaurant operators to upgrade their existing POS software in a move to broaden their customer bases and increase sales. Sixty-seven percent of restaurateurs that revealed POS software purchasing plans said upgrades to their existing solution are in the cards for the next 12 months. Heading the list of POS trends on the upgrades front will be changes that enable restaurants to accept payments via a mobile wallet. A majority (59%) of participants said they intend to add mobile wallet acceptance capability over the next 12 months. Tablet-based POS software and loyalty tools will also rank among popular upgrades this year (both at 57%), as will cloud-based POS (35%) and integration with social media (33%).
The introduction of "dynamic pricing" (yield management) capabilities, previously used almost exclusively by the hotelier contingent of the hospitality vertical, comprises an example here. In a foodservice scenario, the dynamic pricing component will allow foodservice operators to create more demand for menu items by adjusting prices according to daypart, with tablet POS devices and/or integrated digital signage used to display price changes. Restaurateurs may also use dynamic pricing capabilities to test various pricing scenarios and menu substitutions.
In 2015, the industry will see even more of a push to upgrade to tablet technology from outdated cash registers, order pads and paper menus. Among key trends this year will be the use of tablets as the anchoring technology for self-service kiosks, and as a vehicle for accepting self-generated food and drink orders, supplying tabletop entertainment, and conveying promotional messages to diners as they sit in their seats.
Forty-seven percent of restaurateurs polled for the study agreed that attaining compliance with the Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV) standard is on their “to-do” list. Installing EMV-capable hardware is not mandatory, but as of October 2015, liability for credit and debit card fraud will shift to merchants unless they have deployed it to replace their existing equipment. A desire to avoid significant financial fallout from data breaches and other fraudulent activity places migration to EMV on the top of the POS trends roster.
