Harris and Hoole, a coffee chain supported by U.K. grocery company Tesco PLC, is accepting mobile payments at the point of sale in each of its 36 stores throughout the country.
Harris and Hoole updated its mobile application to allow customers to make payments through a touch, tap or scan of a bar code at a payment terminal, the company states in a June 3 press release.
After downloading the app, a customer can link a payment card to obtain funds from a prepaid H+H account. Customers use the app to "check in" upon arriving at the store, alerting the staff, who receive the customer's profile picture and name. After greeting the customer, the employee can begin making a pre-set preferred coffee.
Customers used the app for more than 100,000 check-ins at the company's 36 shops since it was launched in August 2013 with the check-in and coffee preference options. "We are really excited about this next stage [adding mobile payment]," Danielle Anderson, director of digital experience at Harris and Hoole, states in the release.
"The mobile payment removes the cold formality of an anonymous transaction and better reflects the kind of friendly exchange you would expect from your local coffee shop," she adds.
The mobile app works on Android and iOS devices. The app provides a free coffee to the customer when first signing up and provides a digital loyalty card that operates in the same manner as the company's plastic loyalty card.
Currently, the app does not allow mobile payers to avoid waiting in the same line as other patrons.
Users can add funds to their accounts at the stores, using any Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card, the company says. They can also use an "auto top-up" feature through the app, which pulls money from a linked account any time the H+H account is below £5.
