Slug and Lettuce introduces contactless payment
Bar chain Slug and Lettuce is to introduce contactless payment in 80 of its sites nationwide.
The business, which is now part of pub company Stonegate following a merger between Stonegate and Town and City Pub company, made the move after a trial of the technology in four of its London pubs.
The contactless payment system, which is provided by Barclaycard, will be available for all transactions of £15 or under. The average transactional value at Slug and Lettuce is £8.89.
If the technology proves to be a success, it could be rolled out across the rest of Stonegate's 560-stong estate. Currently, 61% of card transactions processed by the company's pubs/restaurants are below £20, which account for 2.5 million transactions annually.
George Wright, head of marketing for the Stonegate Pub Company, said:
"The trial was an astounding success for us and was well received by our customers. It reduced queuing significantly, giving diners smooth and quick service. Our customers are time sensitive and don't want to be limited in their choice of food due to the amount of cash they have on them at the time. For these reasons we see contactless payments having a huge future in the pub environment."
Richard Armstong, head of UK payment acceptance at Barclaycard, added: "The sheer number of transactions made in the trial period for Slug and Lettuce highlights the positive impact that new technologies in the retail environment have on customers. It also shows the progression of contactless payments and by 2012 we expect contactless to be a mainstream payment technology."
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By Neil Gerrard
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