US: Restaurant pay-at-the-table systems begin to rise

Il était temps !!!

The US market for pay-at-the-table credit and debit payment systems in restaurants, estimated at around US$ 438mn (EUR 322.3mn), is slowly beginning to take off as it has in Europe, as the number of skimming scams increases. The scams involve using hand-held computers to record card information once a customer has handed it over for payment, and could potentially be thwarted by the introduction of table-side devices that allow customers to control the transaction.

Verifone has produced the VX-670, which features a LCD screen and numerical keypad, and sends information wirelessly to a computer in the restaurant, while rival Hypercom offers the touch-screen, contact-less reader the Blade. The systems can cost several hundred dollars, but manufacturers expect restaurateurs to become more willing to invest as security threats grow. Another benefit is the increased productivity the systems offer by decreasing transaction time, with Hypercom estimating an increase of table turns during peak hours from 1% to 4%.
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