Bar Tab is a new function within Mastercard’s Qkr! payment app that allows consumers to set up, manage and pay bar tabs using their smartphones. The application will be integrated into Oracle Hospitality’s restaurant management platform and Masterpass, the digital payment service. After today’s initial debut, TGI Fridays plans to deploy the app to 80 additional locations in the UK by the end of 2017.

Customers can easily manage their tab through a designated four-digit PIN that connects orders in the restaurant management software to the Qkr! payment account. This means customers can easily manage the rounds that they are in with friends and split the bill. There is no need to hand over a payment card to bar staff, and no need to use a card machine.

“We’re always looking for ways to improve the unique Fridays experience for our guests,” said Jeremy Dunderdale, Head of Business Solutions, TGI Fridays UK. “With Bar Tab, we’re able to offer our diners the freedom to settle their bills on-demand, with this quicker and more convenient payment platform. Enabling self-service payments also allows our team members to focus on engaging guests in more meaningful ways - which is what we’re all about at Fridays.”

Betty DeVita, Chief Commercial Officer for Mastercard Labs, said: “Nobody wants to hand over their card to a bartender. Your card should be with you at all times, so it’s natural for people to leave a pub without having closed their tab. This is a common problem we wanted to solve through Qkr. For bar staff themselves we have removed the headache of card storage and admin.''

“Oracle Hospitality’s restaurant management platform allows the food and beverage industry to innovate by creating a single view of operations,” said Dale Grant, Senior Vice President Food and Beverage Oracle Hospitality. “With Oracle Hospitality solutions at the core, restaurants and bars can easily integrate additional solutions like Mastercard’s Qkr payments platform to reinvent their customer experience. By implementing Bar Tab, TGI Fridays can now offer its customers a quicker, more convenient experience that empowers staff to provide more welcoming bar experiences while reducing the number of unpaid tabs at the end of the night.”