Thumbzup, Munch partner to revolutionise the dining experience

Today’s consumers want a food ordering and dining experience that is seamless and intuitive, with the flexibility to order ahead for take away or eat at leisure in a restaurant. They want to easily split bills, use loyalty points, add tips and pay instantly using various contactless payment methods.

To meet the evolving expectations of today’s patrons, the hospitality industry needs a cloud-based restaurant management system and payment solution that is cost-effective and easy to use so they can adapt to rapidly evolving consumer demands. 

South African mobile payments company Thumbzup has partnered with Munch to enable diners to do just that. Munch has developed a unique, cloud-based Android point of sale (POS) and payment solution that improves the customer service experience, helping hospitality businesses thrive in a post-COVID world.

"With Munch, you get your favourite restaurant's menu on your mobile phone, order and pay seamlessly wherever you are and you are notified when it is ready for collection,” says Wynand Geldenhuys, CEO of Munch. "This technology enables restaurants to move beyond the traditional four walls to meet the new demands of consumers on the move.”

Cloud-based solution

The cloud-based solution delivers a unified mobile app and in-store experience integrated into a restaurant’s POS systems to enable easy reconciliation and transaction tracking. "Multiple restaurants are linked to a single back-office, and managers can view live business reports either on-site or remotely that enable inventory, menu and loyalty management, as well as obtain insights into business trends and analytics,” says Saul Gorin, CEO of Thumbzup. "Our clients can speed up the growth of their food business with a complete, cloud-based POS and mobile payments solution that seamlessly integrates in-store and online orders.”

Waiter’s best friend

Waiters can leverage the technology to focus on the customer experience: manage their tables more successfully, easily customise and send orders to the kitchen, receive kitchen updates, split bills and ensure they are tipped more effectively.

Kitchen sleek 

A sleek kitchen display system improves the production and tracking of food orders replacing clumsy printers and paper tickets in a restaurant kitchen. It routes orders from the POS to the correct kitchen stations, streamlining kitchen communication and reducing human error. 

Ordering and payment flexibility

Consumers can pre-order or order takeaways via a Munch Consumer App directly from the menu and pay instantly through the Munch app on their phones. 

Payment is facilitated by Thumbzup either on-site using a range of Sunmi mobile Android devices or as an online card payment. Patrons pay instantly using contactless, chip-and-PIN or magstripe cards. 

Zapper, Apple Pay and other wearable contactless payment methods are also supported.

Payments are processed through the Microsoft Azure-hosted Thumbzup Transaction Processing environment and delivered directly to the acquiring bank. Being in control of the payment application and processing layer allows Thumbzup to orchestrate multiple payment technologies while enriching transactional data for its customers. Transactions can be settled into any bank account of the merchant's choice. The Thumbzup omnichannel mobile payment solution enables both in-store and e-commerce payments.

Co-working space Roamwork has been among the first to sign up for Munch. "The solution makes it easy for people to order coffee and snacks while working,” says Darren Epstein, owner of Roamwork. "It adds even greater convenience to our collaborative workspace. Self-order speeds up servicing, reduces errors and gives customers the freedom to order when they want.”