TableSafe Inc., maker of the only purpose-built pay-at-the-table platform for full-service restaurants and the broader hospitality industry, today announced that its RAIL payment platform has achieved EMV certification and has been approved to process chip and signature payments. With assistance from Cardtek, an international provider of payment solutions and technology, the RAIL stands as the first EMV-certified and PCI compliant pay-at-the-table platform that enables dining guests to control the entire payment process, providing them with the freedom to pay for their meal, when and how they choose.
“EMV certification is a tremendous milestone in our history—and perhaps for the full-service restaurant industry as a whole,” says Gordon Gardiner, CEO at TableSafe. “Until now, there hasn’t been a suitable way for full-service restaurants to seamlessly accept EMV payments at the table without abandoning a sense of elegance, style, and tradition that’s so important to the dining experience. The RAIL is the first EMV pay-at-the-table platform that is fully integrated with leading POS systems, and designed to complement the full-service restaurant hospitality.”
The RAIL provides restaurants with the highest level of payment security in the industry. In addition to providing EMV and PCI certification, point-to-point encryption (P2PE) and other security features, the RAIL ensures the guest’s payment information never resides on the restaurant’s point of sale terminal. By combining these features, the risk of credit breach is virtually eliminated.
The low-profile RAIL is an easy to use device housed inside a patented billfold that replicates the traditional leather folio commonly used by full-service restaurants to deliver the guest’s check. Once the billfold is opened, this payment agnostic platform enables the guests to securely self-pay with their credit card or Samsung Pay, and soon will offer the ability to pay with contactless cards or other mobile apps, including Apple Pay and Android Pay using contactless EMV technology. It also allows guests to auto-calculate tips, split the bill multiple ways, and receive email receipts.
“Unlike other pay-at-the-table solutions, the RAIL doesn’t require the wait staff to stand at the table while payment is made, making the customers feel like they are being rushed to get out of the restaurant or that their tipping and payment progress is under surveillance,” Gardiner says. “Our payment platform is intended to be left at the table and allows guests to pay at their own pace. Once the bill has been paid, a color-coded light will indicate to wait staff when it’s time to retrieve the RAIL or if the guest needs further assistance.”
The RAIL was purpose built for full-service restaurants and provides operators with additional benefits including increased efficiency for wait staff and back-of-house operations, the ability to obtain instant guest feedback through surveys, and the opportunity to reduce use of thermal paper by up to 85 percent. TableSafe technology reduces the time from ticket presentation to closing out the payment by up to ten minutes, enabling the staff to spend more time with dining guests and enhance the overall experience.
TableSafe uses Quick Chip technology from VISA to provide a faster payment processing experience that enables the guest to dip and remove their EMV chip card without waiting for the transaction to be finalized.
“Working with VISA and their Quick Chip technology provided a streamlined approach that made it possible to speed through the development, testing and certification of EMV processing on our RAIL platform,” says Michael Weaver, chief technology officer at TableSafe. “This shaved valuable time off the deployment of our go-to-market strategy.”
TableSafe has validated the RAIL platform at select full-service restaurants from coast to coast and will expand its rollout nationwide in the coming weeks.
