Payper Technologies, UK-based start-up that developed a graphene-based solution a new pay-at-table technology, has announced that it has secured the first trial site in Manchester, at the five-star Lowry Hotel River restaurant.
Using graphene-enhanced receipt paper, the user simply places their phone on the restaurant bill and a payment screen appears on screen in seconds.
Payper came up with the idea after 69% of customers said that paying is one of the most infuriating experiences when dining out. Payper's research has indicated this more streamlined checkout process will result in increased customer loyalty, and a 30% uplift in customer lifetime value.
"The pioneering idea was conceived by the founder, Dr Thanasis Georgiou after he was left waiting to pay the restaurant bill for 20 minutes," explained Payper co-founder Renate Kalnina.
"After spending ten years on advanced material research, he saw a clear opportunity to use graphene to address this industry problem. We solved the issue of card terminal jams and downtime, allowing restaurants to run their operations more efficiently at a reduced cost.
"Throughout development, we needed a way to manufacture graphene, which meant having a good understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of different techniques. We were able to formulate conductive inks that have sufficient characteristics to work with our antennas.
"Once we had manufactured the graphene antenna rolls, we then built the necessary software to handle the payments. We are now in discussions with multiple restaurants who have expressed an interest in trialing the technology."
"We are delighted that The Lowry Hotel will be the first to launch this exciting new technology within the hospitality industry," added commercial director of Lowry Hotel Kelly Andreasson.
"Introducing new technology into the hotel is a passion of ours and Payper provides advantages to both our team and our guests through a simple, efficient and seamless way to pay."
Restaurant payments
Clever technology but of dubious necessity. Generally, the most infuriating part of paying in a restaurant is waiting to get the bill. Staff often seem to have a knack of ignoring you - knowing, of course, that you are a captive customer and that you will not be ordering anything else. The solution to this is not in the billing technology: it's in the management and staff training. Once presented with the bill it's usually only a very short wait to be presented with the card payment machine.