Hospitality systems from Wappstars guarantee seamless ordering and payment options thanks to Online Payment Platform

"Online Payment Platform really thinks along with us about the solutions we want to offer. They act very quickly. When we acquire a new client, it's up and running in no time.’’ - Han Hauw Mak, co-founder Wappstars and Concept1

QR code in the restaurant

Wappstars has two main pillars. First, the company operates a platform that allows the hospitality industry to provide its delivery and takeout services, from order to payment. Now it provides this service for over a hundred, mostly hospitality companies. Last year, we had a growth spurt. "By partnering with Online Payment Platform, customers can now be connected directly, allowing them to receive payments via iDEAL on the same day. Now the process is much more streamlined and error-free," says Mak.

Restaurants prefer to focus on what they do best: preparing delicious food and pampering the guest. The Wappstars team is constantly working to unburden restaurant owners by providing them with digital solutions. A smooth and streamlined checkout process is essential for this. For this purpose Wappstars is working together with Online Payment Platform.

Takeaway.com (originally Dutch) has the name and the volume, but in the shadow Wappstars is working hard on its position as a supplier of digital services for the hospitality industry. Besides building webshops and websites and taking care of social media and marketing campaigns, the company makes systems for online orders. "We also do photography and create menus for restaurants. So we basically take care of everything a hospitality entrepreneur needs to be successful," says Han Hauw Mak, co-founder of Wappstars. Eighty percent of the company's customer base consists of hospitality companies.

Two years ago, the entrepreneurs behind Wappstars were looking for a new payment service provider. The company had drawn up a number of conditions which the provider had to meet. Speed in particular was an area for improvement and therefore an important condition, Mak says. "We quickly noticed that Online Payment Platform was the party par excellence that could deliver that. They work in small teams and act very quickly. If we take on a new client, it will be up and running two hours later. That really is an added value; previously it took several days."

Under the company name Concept1, the entrepreneurs behind Wappstars launched i-Butler. This is an ordering service with QR code, intended for use in restaurants. On the table is a QR code, and after scanning the code, guests can place their order. The system works without the intervention of an app or login. Everyone at the table who scans the code can place their own order within the group. Thanks to Online Payment Platform, payment can also be made easily by phone afterwards.

Mak: "You come to a restaurant to socialize with your friends. So we want to avoid a situation where everyone is only involved digitally. That's why we've built in the function of synchronized ordering. You can see on each other's phones what has been ordered. That in turn causes interaction between the users. It's also not necessary for one person to collect the orders and then pass them on to the kitchen." When one of the guests then clicks order, a timer starts running. Within that timer, everyone at the table still has the option to change or cancel the order.

Customers are helped much faster

The pleasant collaboration with Online Payment Platform is particularly evident in the service Wappstars can offer its customers, Mak believes. "They really think along about the solutions we want to offer and are very flexible. We can now do the complete onboarding of new customers ourselves. They send us the necessary data, and we create complete accounts for them, including payment modules. Our previous payment provider had to solve all the problems, now we can do that ourselves. That link is gone thanks to Online Payment Platform, so we can help customers faster."

Online Payment Platform's platform also offers flexibility to Wappstars. For example, the company uses a flexible pricing system, allowing it to determine the rates that are passed on to the end customer. This is an important addition; after all, the company earns per transaction. "But the fact that we can do the management ourselves is the real gain."

Despite COVID-19 Wappstars is not sitting still. The order and takeaway business is, of course, running well, but the QR code solution is also in the works. As soon as the catering industry can reopen, a group of more than fifty catering entrepreneurs is ready to implement the system. Mak: "Customers only need to provide the right menu and a floor plan of the restaurant, and we will take care of the rest. We install the complete cabling, set up the network and ensure that we can help remotely. We also provide training for the system. The payment modules from Online Payment Platform complete the picture."

Meanwhile, Online Payment Platform and Wappstars are looking to further deepen their collaboration. Wappstars, using code from Online Payment Platform, has built a new payment functionality that can be installed on webshops running WooCommerce. This open source plug-in for Wordpress is immensely popular among webshops and other sites that handle transactions.

Via the module built by Wappstars, multi-split payments are now possible, so that at the back end, the commission can be paid out immediately to the website owner. Mak: "There are many companies that use WooCommerce, and for them this plug-in is very interesting. The demand for this solution is also high, and we are now looking together with Online Payment Platform at how we will deploy this new solution for both our customers and those of Online Payment Platform."