POS System Providers Swing Their Sights on Aiding Restaurants

Two point-of-sale system providers are taking action to help ailing restaurants as they contend with the repercussions of measures to stem the Covid-19 infection.

First, TouchBistro Inc., a provider of payments technology for restaurants, launched its Restaurant Recovery Navigator, a collection of products and services aimed at helping dining establishments struggling with the impact of stay-at-home policies during the Covid-19 pandemic. The company also launched a gift card program and said it planned to offer a proprietary online-ordering service by mid-month, which it said will be free to clients for the first 12 months. 

“Restaurants today are faced with the unimaginable burden of lost revenues, yet they are continuing to find new ways to connect with their customers, deliver meals, feed families, and support communities,” said Alex Barrotti, founder and chief executive of Toronto-based TouchBistro, in a statement.

And Payments provider Shift4 Payments LLC said it will offer a $5,000 prize to a winning diner who shares a photo of his or her takeout meal on social media. The effort is part of the Great American Takeout, an initiative supported by multiple companies and aimed at encouraging Americans to order takeout or delivery meals to help support restaurants during the pandemic. 

Allentown, Pa.-based Shift4 has been tracking transaction volume in the hospitality sector to gauge the impact of shelter-in-place restrictions. Updated daily, the latest data shows restaurant volume nationally for the past seven days is down 78% from the first week of February and hotel volume is down 96%.

—With additional reporting by John Stewart