Olo Adds Kiosk Payments And Other Features for Restaurants

Olo Inc., a software-as-a-service platform provider for restaurants, rolled out several enhancements, including the ability for customers to place orders and pay for them using the Olo Pay application at in-restaurant kiosks.

Enabling in-restaurant payments at kiosks marks the first availability of card-present payment processing through Olo Pay. Olo developed the enhancement in partnership with Bite Inc., a provider of self-service kiosks for quick-service restaurants.

Payments through self-service kiosks will help restaurants better manage labor costs and personnel shortages, the company says. The Olo Pay application also ties in-store and online guest interactions into a single customer data profile that helps restaurants better understand their customers’ purchasing behavior, according to Olo.

Adam Karveller, chief technology officer at Newk’s Eatery, a chain that operates more than 100 cafes across 13 states, said the implementation of card-present digital payments through the Olo Pay kiosk will simplify tasks inherent in restaurant transactions and free up team members to deliver higher-touch guest experiences.  

“Having a streamlined in-store payment option for guests will advance and optimize our operations,” Karveller says in a statement. “We’re thrilled to improve the team and guest experience across our corporate stores and offer the same compelling opportunity for our growing franchise system as we continue to scale.”

In addition to enabling kiosk-based payments, Olo introduced several other enhancements, including Borderless Loyalty Integrations and OrderReady AI. Borderless is a white-label application that enables integration of all loyalty apps to Olo’s platform. OrderReady AI uses machine learning to generate accurate ready times for customers and third-party delivery providers to better manage food quality.

“Enabling hospitality at scale, Olo launched a wave of … innovations this quarter to best equip our restaurant customers with the tools to do more with less and make every guest feel like a regular,” Olo chief executive and founder Noah Glass, says in a statement. “These strategic advancements, including our entrance into card-present payment processing on self-service kiosks, are leading the industry’s digital transformation, putting operational efficiency and data-driven hospitality at the forefront.”

Olo’s platform is used by more than 600 restaurant brands and has relationships with more than 300 technology partners.