Mobile payments really are beginning to secure a little bit of a foothold in place of more traditional payment methods such as credit or debit cards. Having recently updated their Android Pay support for Bank of America ATMs around the country, Google is also now partnering with Chili’s Grill & Bar and Ziosk to offer patrons of Chili’s restaurants the capability to pay at the table for their food through the Ziosk tabletop tablets using Android Pay. This follows a handful of other recent announcements in regards to Android Pay which came out over the last week, included in which was the announcement that Android Pay is now ready for the UK market, something which users in the region had been waiting on for quite some time.
As per the announcement details, Ziosk and Chili’s will integrate Android Pay as a payment solution for guests at all tabletop experience tablets nationwide, although the integration isn’t expected to be complete until the third quarter later in the year. Initially, the unveiling of the new mobile payment option that integrates Android pay, which is part of Ziosk’s zPay solution, was made last week at Google I/O which seems a fitting place considering all the other Android Pay-related announcements. Ziosk also states that this is the first zPay mobile wallet solution that will make its way to restaurants which utilize Ziosk as part of the dining experience.
For those that may have used Android Pay before, the payment process will be no different when using it at a Chili’s restaurant after the integration has finished. Once Ziosk tablets support the Android Pay platform, guests will be able to pay for their meals by tapping their phone’s up to the contactless reader that will be on all Ziosk tabletop tablets. There are a couple of caveats here worth mentioning, though. One is that guests will have to unlock their devices before attempting to pay which shouldn’t be an issue, but to use Android Pay in the first place the bank or credit union being used by the customer will need to support the Android Pay platform, and while Google is continuously adding more banks at a decent pace, there are many which still aren’t compatible so customers will want to make note of that when planning how to pay. In addition to the Android Pay integration, Chili’s guests will also be able to utilize loyalty rewards and store them within the Android Pay app.