QR codes to pay in restaurants?
Hey, hello there ... it's been a long time ... well, a week!
How have you been? Sunbathing, sunbathing? Yes, it's important to have a good time! Speaking of good times, have you been sitting on a terrace recently? No, because that's what we're going to talk about today. In fact, we're going to be talking about MealPay, a project that grew out of an adventure that began with my partner Josselin Dionisi.
The QR Code as a contactless payment system
In fact, the basic idea is simple: we're seeing QR Codes more and more frequently, particularly on restaurant menus... but what if we took it a step further? I mean, in the crypto world, QR codes for payment are commonplace... but what if we brought them into our world of fiat currencies, and adapted them to a clear and precise need? In fact, you can see my very first tweet on this subject below.
2/2 an address is complicated.
On the other hand, scanning a QRCode (which contains the table number directly) that sends directly to a simple and efficient ordering interface and sends the orders to the right people, that's something ;)
- Ludovic Frank (@Ludo_z) March 6, 2021
From menu to complete payment system
We took the time to discuss it with Josselin and agreed that we had the skills to do better... MUCH better.
The QR Code on the table represents the bill, with details of what's been taken, so all you have to do is scan to find out where you stand.
No more awkward waiting for the waiter (or waitress) to ask for the bill.
You scan, you get the summary, you pay securely by taking a photo of your bank card, using Apple Pay or Google Pay. and that's it.
Restaurant staff don't have to deal with that part either, they can get on with other tasks like ... serving other customers....
Restaurant owners have their brand images ... which have been stolen enough!
Listen to people who order online, what do they say? I took an Uber or Deliveroo ... and the restaurateur's brand image in all this? WHERE IS IT?!
MealPay works as a white label, we put the name of the application at the bottom of the screen ... And, it's the colors of the establishment and the logo of the establishment at the top, customers go to an establishment for the establishment and not for MealPay...
Dear restaurateurs: Your customers! YOUR BRAND IMAGE (and don't ever give up on it).
Split the bill, a full menu in the app...
Today, we've focused on the payment experience, making sure that it goes smoothly, but we're not going to stop there while we're at it... Splitting the bill could be a good idea too, or even integrating the menu directly into the app.
After that, I don't think we'll be adding the option of taking orders directly from the app, as we don't want to dehumanize things too much. People go out to socialize, so barrier gestures are good... but so is human contact!
Conclusion
And yes ... this article is sponsored! By ourselves, I wanted to write a short article about "how we came up with the idea of MealPay" and what values this project will carry. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you next week, bright and early.
