NCR Serves OpenTable App To More Diners

NCR Corp. is partnering with OpenTable, which is owned by Priceline, to integrate the “Pay with OpenTable” app with NCR’s POS platform.

In an announcement Tuesday (May 19) the two companies said linking the app with the hardware will enable consumers to pay their bills not just at the end of the meal, but whenever they want. Diners add a credit card to the OpenTable app when they book at a restaurant, and can then use their smartphones to view the bill and pay, without having to scan or use barcodes.

The NCR platform, known as API, uses a cloud-based gateway to wrap the OpenTable app into a restaurant’s installed base of POS systems.

“The integration with the NCR Aloha point-of-sale solution makes the OpenTable mobile payment experience even more widely available to our customers,” said Matt Roberts, OpenTable’s CEO. “We’re excited about working together to power a payment and dining experience that is intuitive and elegant for both diners and restaurants.”

The app, known as Pay with OpenTable, is available in several U.S. cities, and will be made available to NCR Aloha systems through the second half of 2015.

The online reservation service company had overhauled its website at the end of last year bringing its Pay with OpenTable app live in October of 2014 with a Washington, D.C., debut, and launching in 20 U.S. cities in fairly short order.

NCR has been shifting away from traditional POS after having to lower financial guidance on weak sales. Shareholders have been pushing the company to explore strategic options in recent months, according to financial trade publications, including The Wall Street Journal.