19th March 2018
Wagamama has launched a walk-away payment app that will save diners 12 minutes every meal.
Created in partnership with Mastercard, the app is described as “Uber for diners”. Participants have their details stored securely, with payment taken automatically from the app without the need for a pay button, leaving diners free to get up and leave at the end of their meal without waiting for a
bill. When using the app in a restaurant, customers can access added benefits such as super-sizing a fresh juice for the price of a regular drink at a saving of £1; splitting the bill by choosing which items they want to pay for; and order sides, drinks, extras and desserts direct from the kitchen.
App users can also order takeaway meals to collect from any Wagamama restaurant. Wagamama customer director Emma Woods said: “We wanted to bring truly frictionless payment to restaurants as we know waiting for the bill is frustrating. Customers are automatically charged, with the receipt emailed directly.
Jennifer Macrae, vice-president of product innovation at Mastercard, said: “We are bringing our digital ordering and payment technology – Qkr – into an app that is tailor-made for Wagamama’s customers. Wagamama is the first to use it in this way, allowing customers to order from phones and simply walk away.”
Wagamama has reported 8.2% UK like-for-like sales growth in its third quarter for the 12 weeks ending 28 January 2018, increasing from 7.1% in the second quarter. Group turnover increased 12.5% to £72.1m in the period.