Little Chef today announces that it will be helping customers to beat the rush hour by deploying a contactless payment system using Barclaycard technology across all 173 Little Chef roadside restaurants, including its Coffee Tempo brand and Burger King franchises. The payments system will allow customers to purchase meals quicker and easier, letting them get straight back on the road for their onward journey after their meal.

Following successful rollouts of contactless by Barclays and Barclaycard in London across establishments such as EAT. and Subway, Little Chef’s adoption will see the technology implemented in all of its outlets. It is the first UK restaurant group to fully embrace contactless.

Little Chef is positive that contactless will improve the overall experience for its guests by making the payment process as efficient as possible. The contactless payments system is live now and will be promoted to customers with a full range of Point of Sale material in all restaurants. The restaurant chain has opted for Barclaycard’s own technology and had new machines installed to support this where required.

Tracey Mulligan, Interim Managing Director, Little Chef said:

“We’re constantly working on improving our offer within Little Chef. As well as food and service, technology plays a big part in improving the customer experience and making our offer relevant to today’s busy traveller.  We believe that contactless is an important part of the future of payments and are committed to embracing it in its early stages.”

Stuart Neal, Head of UK Payment Acceptance, Barclaycard, commented:

“The rollout at Little Chef is a significant development in the progress of contactless. The technology fits just as well in a restaurant as it does in a coffee shop or retailer, and the nature of Little Chef’s business means that its customers are looking for a quick and convenient pit stop. It is also encouraging to see contactless being established outside of central London, meaning that our eight million contactless cardholders across the UK can make full use of the technology.”

Barclays and Barclaycard are the leading providers of contactless debit and credit cards and terminals in the UK. Since September 2007, they have issued over 26,000 contactless terminals, enabling retailers to manage transactions quicker and more easily.

Contactless allows customers to make purchases of £15 or less, without the need to enter a PIN or enter their card into a payment terminal. Once the card has been held over the contactless terminal, the transaction uses a secure network to automatically add the purchase to the customer’s credit card bill or debit it from their current account.