Apple Pay Steps Up Relationship with E la Carte

Apple Pay, E la Carte carry on with table-side payment options thanks to a new product.

Some out there, especially those who enjoy Applebee’s or Outback Steakhouse, may already be familiar with E la Carte’s Presto touchscreen system, which allowed for diners to use Apple Pay right at the table to handle a check. For the most part, this worked out well, though few such developments stay static for long. Recently, E la Carte stepped it up a notch by bringing out the Presto Prime, which builds on the Presto’s success in mobile payments at the table.

The new Presto Prime offers some significant advancements, particularly in security, as the system can now offer a dual processor system allowing for the best in end-to-end security. That means not only protection for third-party apps, but also opens up a path for premium content provision.

Apple Pay is the weapon of choice here, but in a move that will likely shake things up a bit, the system also accepts Android Pay and Samsung Pay, as well as mobile payments systems that work with a quick response (QR) code, as there’s a QR code reader and camera option available. There’s even room here for PIN entry and international Chip-and-PIN options.

Given that the Presto Prime system is compatible with the earlier Presto release, upgrades are particularly easy to accomplish. That in turn should make it easier to take at least some of the roughly 90,000 Presto terminals currently in play and replace these with Presto Prime models in short order.

Of course, some are leery about the overall table-side payment experience. While it’s sound enough on its surface, some customers consider the germ risk of touching a screen others have touched before too much to safely use, and not all of the features are great for the user. As systems improve and provide greater value like Presto is, that will only make each system more welcome and more attractive to use. Spreading out the use of payment systems is likewise better; why settle for just the Apple Pay users when Samsung Pay and Android Pay are also on hand?

In the end, Presto Prime should represent a significant boost in value over Presto, and make it a greater value for the restaurants who use it.