How do you cut queues at events, shops and restaurants?
The quickest way to cut a queue is to give customers more ways to check out. A queue is a sales problem before it’s a service problem. At a market, people walk past a stall when the line is twenty deep. In a shop, they put the gift back on the shelf when the till is backed up. In a restaurant, a table waiting for the bill keeps the next booking at the door. Often, the problem is simply limited checkout options.
The fix is to add checkout flows where the queue builds, without buying hardware you’ll only use for the festive peak. The Viva.com Terminal app turns iPhones and Android phones (with Tap to Pay on iPhone and Tap On Phone), handhelds, countertop terminals and self-service units into payment points, on 1.500+ supported devices. Smart Checkout lets customers pay online, whether they’re ordering ahead, booking a table or buying tickets.
What that looks like depends on where you trade:
- At events and markets: a phone is often the simplest card machine for events, and it doubles as a backup when a terminal fails or a queue outgrows it. Every seller can take contactless payments on the phone they already carry, with Tap On Phone on Android or Tap to Pay on iPhone, so there’s no extra hardware to buy, carry or charge. Set it up and activate it in minutes, then walk the site and take payment wherever the crowd is. For the busiest points, unattended and self-service payment solutions let guests pay at a drinks fridge, a vending point or a ticket and refreshment kiosk without waiting for staff.
- In shops: on a busy Saturday, don’t make everyone wait at the till. A member of staff with a handheld or mobile computer can check stock, answer questions and take payment right there on the shop floor, so the gift is paid for before the queue forms. Customers who scan items on their own phone as they shop just show a QR code at the cashier and pay in seconds. And with buy online and pick up in store, shoppers pay before they arrive and walk straight to collection. The shortest queue is the one that never forms.
- In restaurants: a handheld at each section lets servers settle the bill at the table, which turns tables faster on the nights that matter. A waiter’s own mobile can do the same job: they take contactless payments at the table with no extra hardware to buy and guests pay the moment they ask for the bill. Self-service kiosks and unattended vending let guests order and pay without waiting to be assisted, which takes pressure off the floor. Take reservation deposits and prepaid orders with Viva.com Smart Checkout to secure the booking upfront and cut no-shows. Guests have already paid something before they sit down, so a no-show costs you less.
Whichever of these checkouts you run, they shouldn’t need separate systems behind them. A market stall, a shop floor and a restaurant section all have different payment needs, but they have to work as one. With unified payment infrastructure, you get one dashboard, one settlement and a full picture of your sales wherever they happen, with no separate provider for each checkout point.
Can you take card payments without internet?
Yes, on Android devices. The Viva.com Terminal app stores eligible payments securely and sends them through once you’re back online.
A crowded market square, a marquee in a park, a terrace or a basement bar on a Saturday night all have one thing in common: the mobile network struggles exactly when the most people are using it. If your card machine needs a connection for every payment, the queue stops when the signal does.
With offline card payments, it doesn’t. On Android devices, the Viva.com Terminal app keeps accepting eligible card payments when the connection drops, stores them securely on the device and sends them through once you’re back online. Your customers keep tapping and your team keeps serving, so the queue keeps moving.
How do you take card payments from international visitors?
Let eligible cardholders pay in their home currency with Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC), and accept the payment methods they use at home.
Christmas brings tourists to London’s markets, Edinburgh’s festivities and winter events across the country, and many of them would rather pay the way they do at home. That means two things: paying in the currency they know, and paying with the method they trust.
Start with currency. With Dynamic Currency Conversion, eligible international cardholders paying with Visa or Mastercard can choose to pay in their home currency at the card machine, seeing the exact amount they’ll be charged. That gives them a familiar and easy payment experience. For you, eligible payments earn an acquiring-fee rebate when a customer pays in their home currency. And because the amount on their statement matches what they saw at the till, which can mean fewer disputes.
Then there’s how they pay. Tourists often prefer to use the payment methods they know from home, and a card machine that doesn’t offer them can lose the sale. Viva.com lets you accept 40+ payment methods, including Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Alipay+ and WeChat Pay, so visitors can pay the way they do at home.
Take tips on card payments for your festive team
Seasonal staff work some of the hardest shifts of the year, and customers in a festive mood are often happy to show it. The Viva.com Terminal app lets customers add a tip on the screen as they pay, by percentage, fixed amount or round-up, so tipping takes a second rather than a search for change. For restaurants and cafés, it’s a simple way to make sure the team working the busiest nights gets the tips they’ve earned.
