Acies Payment Solutions for Quick Service Restaurants
With credit and debit cards widely accepted across most retail segments, Quick Service Restaurants represent one of the last true growth markets for payment

Electronic payment has become ubiquitous in the 21st century. Consumers expect the convenience of plastic everywhere they go—to the supermarket, gas station, drug store, department store, upscale and family restaurants, and specialty retailers. Now, one of the last bastions of cash-only payment is about to crumble as Quick Service Restaurants (“QSRs”) hungrily drive up to the payment takeout window.

In the past, there have been several significant obstacles to card acceptance in the QSR market—an average ticket amount that is often $12 or less and the need to move consumers through the line as swiftly as possible. Today, times are changing and several key shifts are making payment viable for an increasing number of QSRs.

Competition - Life today keeps families on the run…to school, soccer practice, doctor and dentist appointments, and evening meetings. With a majority of dual-income families and many single parents, time is at a premium. Families are turning to supermarkets, restaurants, and take-out as home meal replacements (“HMR”). Savvy QSR operators have learned that the typical family can easily spend $20 or more on a meal. To earn their share of HMR business, QSRs need to extend the convenience of plastic to their customers. Once the chain “across the street” starts accepting plastic, other QSRs must do the same to compete effectively.

Aggressive Pricing - Recognizing this fast-growing market opportunity, card associations and acquirers have introduced aggressive pricing models as they vie for position in this new space. In many cases, this means extending “best in class” pricing on terminals and transaction fees, brokered through corporate headquarters, to the smallest franchisees operating as few as one or two stores. The resulting pricing structure makes payment profitable even on smaller-ticket purchases.

Faster Transactions - It’s called “fast food” for a reason, and consumers expect to order, pay and receive their meal quickly. Today, innovative quick-pay programs from card associations, along with advances in terminals and telecommunications, combine to produce transaction times that minimally impact the checkout process - so customers can get their meals and go.

Acies Advantage

As an acknowledged leader in the payment processing industry, Acies can help you choose the array of transaction processing products and services that deliver unsurpassed value to the demanding QSR marketplace. What makes Acies the ideal provider? Here are several key advantages:

Easy-to-use solutions - Acies understands the QSR business. High clerk turnover means operators are constantly hiring and training new employees. Anything that makes that process more difficult simply won’t be accepted. Acies payment terminals all feature intuitive ATM-style interfaces that virtually eliminate training and greatly reduce clerk errors. Applications must be easy to customize by simply activating different parameters. For example, even though QSRs will use a payment application created for restaurants, operators will want to eliminate the tip line. Many customers may not even require a receipt, so this should also be an option.

An appealing menu of solutions - Consumers expect fast service from quick service restaurants. Acies understands that the QSR market is diverse, requiring a menu of attractive solutions to serve the needs of individual stores. Acies offers a variety of configuration options from stand-alone terminals to integrated customer-activated systems to contactless payments - all designed to keep the lines moving, both inside and at the drive-thru lanes.

Comprehensive support services - The QSR environment presents a host of new challenges in supporting installations and maintenance of POS systems. Traditional restaurant and retail support services organizations lack many of the capabilities that are critical to success. Acies Support Services (GSS) can apply real-world expertise to these challenges. GSS service programs, including on-site installation and maintenance, ensures a smooth transition to electronic payments for restaurants and acquirers alike.

Value-added applications - Once QSR operators get used to the idea of payment, they’re going to want to do more with their terminals. Immediate uses could include gift cards and loyalty programs, with other applications to be added as time goes on. As a result, it’s critical that terminals be able to support value-added applications in addition to payment. With its multi-application architecture, GMS provides solutions that securely and efficiently handle payment and value-added applications on the same terminal.