Wasabi Choose Commidea
Contactless Payment DatasheetWasabi pilots pioneering Contactless Payment solution
Customers can now make payments in less than half a second at Japanese restaurant chain, Wasabi – the first restaurant in the UK to pilot a fully integrated Contactless Payment system with Commidea’s Ocius for PCs solution. Market leading retail solution provider Quintek set up the terminals, ensuring that all customer requirements were met.
This marks a first venture into accepting credit and debit card payments for Wasabi, previously a cash only restaurant. It is anticipated that the EPoS and Contactless Payment system, introduced and managed by Quintek and Commidea, will dramatically boost Wasabi’s trade. Initial reactions have been very good, and Wasabi is keen to discover the card payment uptake against cash payments.
The Contactless Payment solution, developed by leading card payment processing supplier Commidea, will allow Wasabi to offer its customers a fast and convenient ‘wave and pay’ method of payment on all transactions of £10 and under. On average, around 7,500 people per week visit Wasabi on Oxford Street, with an average spend of £8.00, so the restaurant is ideally positioned to benefit from the technology. Cardholders simply need to touch their contactless cards against the reader instead of entering a PIN or signing. The transaction is secure, offers both the retailer and customer a faster transaction time and shorter queues, and takes away the hassle of handling loose change.
This new technology enables faster transaction times and shorter queues at the point of sale. After a trial period of four weeks in two of Wasabi’s busiest locations, Canary Wharf and Oxford Street in London, Wasabi have now deployed solutions through the entire estate, which is to be project managed by Quintek.
Lester Sharpe, Operations Manager for Wasabi said: “Wasabi is all about uniqueness. Uniqueness of product, design and shop layout, and for the time being at least this is another unique aspect of our brand. The key aspect here was not so much being the first but having a reliable, effective solution which would give us an advantage over other prime food retailers.”
“All of our outlets are situated in prime, heavy footfall locations and consequently the need for a fast, smooth running solution was paramount. The feedback from both shop staff and customers has been very positive and already we are planning on extending the Contactless solution to at least four more high profile sites. We have already seen a 24% increase in credit card payments.”
Contactless is a simple ‘add on’ to Commidea’s acclaimed Ocius range of terminals, including Ocius for PCs – Wasabi’s choice. Innovative, secure and highly efficient, Contactless incorporates an external card reader with a large LCD screen to display transaction messages to the consumer.
Quintek was keen to work Commidea’s Contactless Payment solution, providing Wasabi with a seamless project management service and ensuring Wasabi has the competitive edge in this market. Quintek’s dedication to providing information based business solutions to the retail and leisure industries reinforces Quintek’s strong track record in building long term business relationships and being a market leader.
Contactless technology is particularly suited to outlets where fast and convenient transactions are needed, such as fast food outlets, coffee shops, newsagents, off licences, bars, pubs, parking facilities and vending machines.
It is predicted that by the end of 2011, 70% of debit cards and 45% of credit cards are expected to be Contactless-enabled in the UK.