OneDine Announces FREE “Tap And Pay” Touchless Payment System For All Restaurants

COVID-19 is impacting all industries right now, including taking a major toll on restaurants. The CDC has put restrictions on gatherings of 50 or more and will likely reduce these numbers in the coming days. Over the next several weeks we can expect restaurants will be severely disrupted and continue to close due to social distancing. 

When they do finally reopen to the public, it’s fair to expect extreme caution around frequently touched surfaces, like tablets, phones, kiosks and monitors amidst the virus spread. 

To assist restaurants during the COVID-19 crisis, OneDine, a full-service table side tech platform, is waiving all setup and transaction fees and providing FREE table sensors at no cost for tap and pay activity. They can have restaurants onboarded, at no cost, in as little as 72 hours. The OneDine system integrates with most POS systems and installs easily.

As restaurants have brought in touchscreen interaction points, it is currently an opportunity for germ spread along with the handling of money and card transactions. While businesses utilize screens for many essential services in the sales process, there’s a way to remove this customer “touchpoint” for restaurants.

This is one of several startups innovating during this crisis to find ways to support SMBs, restaurants in particular, who will face many unknown factors in the coming weeks and months. We can expect consumers will once again want to frequent their favorite restaurants when social distancing is relaxed, and that they will have varying standards of expectations.

Platforms like OneDine allow a fully “tap to pay” experience which means no touching of screens and handling of money or debit and credit cards:

• The OneDine NFC and QR code technology lets restaurants use a QR code on anything, including coasters or even a sticker on a table that’s easy to clean, or NFC technology.
• Customers can either tap the NFC sensor or scan a QR code and don’t need a special app, only a smartphone (and it’s all EMV compliant to avoid fraudulent chargebacks).

This single implementation can greatly reduce the spread of germs from frequently touched surfaces. Restaurants who utilize a “tap to pay” methodology will become a signal that it’s safe to eat in a restaurant, along with other industry-standard cleaning and disinfecting procedures.

For restaurants who currently remain open, here are additional tips to keep customers and employees safe from frequently used touchpoints:

• Introduce curbside pick up and/or utilize delivery services, like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Postmates.
• Disinfect menus after every customer.
• Avoid asking customers to use a shared touchscreen at all right now.
• Limit physical contact in the store.
• Place hand sanitizer next to highly trafficked areas.
• Let customers know your employees are practicing good hygiene.
• Ensure your kitchen staff is well if someone is feeling unwell encourages them to stay home or send them home.

In these unknown times, it’s important to look to those who offer support, information, and resources to reduce negative economic impact. Small businesses, especially in the hospitality industry will take hard hits amidst the closures and distancing. You can continue to support them by buying ahead with gift cards or pre-purchases you can redeem when they’re open to the public again.