Joining the list of restaurant tech solutions aiming to bring contactless everything into the restaurant dining room, PayJunction today announced the launch of its ZeroTouch terminal system.
The device combines contactless pay functionality with a traditional credit card swiper, leaving customers the choice of paying with their phones or with a credit card. The cashier controls the transaction via a web interface on the store’s own computer, eliminating the physical act of passing a credit card back and forth. All receipts are digital, getting rid of the need for paper to be handed from cashier to customer, too.
All that said, the device is only truly contactless for those using their phones to pay. Judging from the keypad on the machine, as well as the fact that ZeroTouch accepts both chip and swipe payments, it looks like those who opt to pay with a card still have to key in a PIN. While the aforementioned web browser still eradicates cashier-to-customer interactions from the process, customers will still have to share a keypad with other guests.
The most compelling aspect of ZeroTerminal is the device’s all-in-one approach to payments. Not everyone can or wants to pay with their phone, and despite some folks believing credit cards will soon be a thing of the past, a good many people continue to pay with them. Having a device that can process both could cut down on the number of devices a restaurant has to juggle.
PayJunction will find a lot of competition when it comes to making the restaurant dining room contactless. Since the start of the pandemic, contactless order and pay solutions, along with digital menu tools, have swarmed the market. Paytronix, Sevenrooms, Presto, and many, many others now offer such products. Granted, those solutions are geared more for table service, whereas PayJunction’s terminal would work better for counter service, or even somewhere like the self-checkout aisle of a grocery store.
How the device stacks up to the competition remains to seen, but it’s yet-another option for restaurants to consider as they grapple with the task of going permanently contactless.
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