Wed 19th Jul 2017 - TGI Friday’s unveils new Bar Tab technology TGI Friday’s launches Mastercard and Oracle’s Bar Tab app ahead of UK roll-out: TGI Friday’s has become the first brand in the UK to launch Bar Tab, a new function within Mastercard’s Qkr! payment app, at its site in Leicester Square, London. Bar Tab allows consumers to set up, manage and pay bar tabs on their smartphone. The application will be integrated into Oracle Hospitality’s restaurant management platform and Masterpass, the digital payment service. TGI Friday’s plans to roll-out the app to 80 locations in the UK by the end of 2017. Customers manage their tab through a PIN number that connects orders in the restaurant management software to the Qkr! payment account. Customers can manage rounds they are in with friends and split the bill, with no need to hand a payment card to staff or use a card machine. TGI Friday’s UK head of business solutions Jeremy Dunderdale said: “With Bar Tab, we’re able to offer our diners the freedom to settle their bills on demand. 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 Friday’s.” Mastercard Labs chief commercial officer Betty DeVita told Propel: “For bar staff, we have removed the headache of card storage and admin. When you want to leave and the bar is two-to-three people deep, you can just leave. And there’s no skipping the bill!” She added that the US is the next market in Mastercard’s sights in which to launch Bar App. Dale Grant, senior vice-president food and beverage at Oracle Hospitality, told Propel: “By implementing Bar Tab, TGI Friday’s 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.” Grant said he sees Bar App as the “Uber-isation” of hospitality experiences, where “people have the control”. He said Bar Tab would be tweaked over time so diners could add drinks and dishes from their table using the app, which would be “great for increased sales”. Looking to the evolution of Bar Tab, he added: “We’re already looking at what’s next. What can we bring in to make it quicker?”