Twin Peaks, a sports-oriented casual dining chain, is moving into mobile payments and rewards with a branded application that lets consumers split checks and access special offers only redeemable in the app.

The MyCheck-supported platform that will be available on the Apple App store and Google Play in late August will allow customers to view, split and pay bills from mobile phones using Apple Pay, PayPal, Google Wallet, debit or credit cards. The feature emphasizes how a branded mobile payments app is a vehicle for driving greater customer engagement, as it literally puts the brand in the hands of consumers and keeps it top-of-mind.

“For Twin Peaks, having a mobile app is an opportunity to provide our guests with many benefits,” said Pete Bell, chief marketing officer of Twin Peaks, Dallas. “With location services on, they will be able to see all the craft beers on tap that day and what events are taking place.

“In football season, we think there’s an opportunity to let customers reserve seating if they are coming in to watch a game,”  he said. “There are many things we want to include in the app that will fit well with our customer base.”

Extra ordering
The platform’s users also can order additional menu items, and access exclusive rewards and special offers only redeemable in the app.

Twin Peaks promotion.

Besides providing Twin Peaks with data and analytics for testing menu and promotional offerings and supporting marketing strategies, the app will allow the chain to automate how it rewards customers, with promotional programs integrated into its point-of-sale system.

User experience details were not disclosed ahead of the app’s launch.

With 68 locations in 24 states, Twin Peaks serves food and draft beer in a mountain sports lodge setting.

Offering speed and ease of secure mobile payments, including the option to order more items is an advantage for a casual dining restaurant like Twin Peaks, whose customers often order multiple rounds of beer and split the check among friends.

The need to put customers in control of payments reflects heightened expectations related to the mobile revolution and growing prevalence of smartphones in modern culture.

Overall sentiment around mobile payments is on an upward trend. Last year, 94 percent of global conversations on the topic were favorable, compared with 77 percent in 2013 and 70 percent in 2012, MasterCard informed Mobile World Congress 2015 attendees earlier this year.

More than one-third of consumers are more likely to access technology-related functions in restaurants than they were two years ago, according to research from the National Restaurant Association.

With the rise of functionalities such as mobile ordering, mobile payments and redeeming rewards on smartphones, restaurants are able to market more efficiently to consumers, especially millennials that use mobile devices most frequently.

In March, Wagamama, a British pan-Asian casual restaurant chain, teamed up with MasterCard to let customers use a mobile application to pay for meals, adding speed and convenience to the dining experience.

The Qkr! app with MasterPass let customers who were in a hurry pay as soon as they wished.

In April, Olive Garden began to employ tablets in its bricks-and-mortar locations, enabling customers to order and pay via the devices.

The brand previously integrated tabletop ordering platform Ziosk’s tablets into select locations, with results showing that those restaurants have seen faster dining times and higher tip percentages for servers, two aspects that greatly augment dining for both the staff and for customers.

Additional locations
Olive Garden has moved to roll out the tablets at additional locations as part of its goal to equip all of its United States-based restaurants with the mobile devices.

Wagamama payments promotion. 

“Mobile payments are increasing in this country, and we picked MyCheck because our customers can use various forms of payment in a single app,” Mr. Bell said. “It’s a great convenience.”

Final Take
Michael Barris is staff reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York