Steak 48 will be adding mobile wallet payments to its payment options.
To accommodate the number of Chinese tourists visiting its restaurant, Steak 48, one of Chicago’s top restaurant brands, plans to accept WeChat Pay starting July 1st.
All Prime Steak Concepts brands will support the payment platform.
WeChat Pay is one of the largest mobile messaging and payment platforms in the Chinese sector and the world. With millions of tourists and business travelers coming from China to shop at stores and enjoy a meal at restaurants in North America, Europe and other major markets, more and more businesses outside of China are adopting Chinese-friendly payment solutions to accommodate these travelers.
In addition to its Steak 48 restaurant in Chicago, owner Prime Steak Concepts will also be rolling out WeChat as a payment option at its other brands, Dominick’s Steakhouse and Steak 44 in Arizona and the other Steak 48 located in Texas.
“It’s impossible to be too considerate, we strive to be as accommodating as possible for our guests,”, chief brand officer of Prime Steak Concepts, Oliver Badio, told Mobile Payments Today in an email.
“If there’s a payment platform that people prefer to use, or are comfortable using, we want to tailor the experience to be as considerate as possible,” Badio added.
Steak 48 guests who use WeChat Pay simply scan a QR code to pay for meals.
The WeChat payment software was integrated into Steak 48’s Aloha POS platform using SoftPoint. A spokesperson from the restaurant said that to use the WeChat mobile app to make a payment, a guest of the restaurant simply needs to scan a QR code that is presented on their check.
In addition to accepting all major credit cards, and aside from the upcoming WeChat option, Steak 48 also accepts Union Pay, which is another very popular digital wallet used in China.
That being said, while Google Pay and Apple Pay are not currently accepted, official say that they hope to incorporate these mobile wallet solutions into their system in the future.
Beyond the integration of WeChat Pay, more and more US stores, restaurants and other businesses are accepting Alipay as well. In fact, earlier this year, Alipay partnered with Walgreens and is accepted at 7,000 of its stores.