Payments company Planet has launched an integrated digital payments service for Merchants operating across Europe in the Hospitality and Food & Beverage sectors. The solution delivers all the required payment services, including acquiring and processing, on a single platform. This provides added value services for Merchants through a revenue generating payments partnership. It comes as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approves the acquisition of 3C Payment by Planet.

When Merchants select Planet, they benefit from a full range of Hospitality payments services covering acquiring, acceptance, gateway processing, reporting and intelligence. The new service offers a single entry point to faster, safer, digital contactless payment methods, giving guests the confidence to spend freely. Hoteliers and restaurants can also offer a better payments experience for Chinese guests as the combined service acquires for Alipay and WeChat Pay.

By operating an integrated payments service, Merchants can make efficiency savings by consolidating multiple supplier arrangements. This helps them respond to tougher global trading conditions and benefit from additional value-added services including data and insight, and currency conversion, helping them grow their revenue from payment services.

The solution leverages the 3C Payment gateway which is fully integrated with enterprise booking and operating systems, and delivers secure services across multiple channels on-site, online or mobile. This is further enhanced with the functionality offered by the new PAX A920 payment terminal, allowing Merchants to use a portable payment terminal to process payments whether that be at reception desk or at table. 

In addition, new innovative digital services can also support Hospitality Merchants to improve omni-channel processing, which increases safety in a post lockdown world. With 3C’s digital gateway and user wallet technology, Merchants can provide frictionless order and payment services. These are processed in-app at Food & Beverage outlets, helping to limit interaction with staff and other diners.

Planet’s Hospitality payment solution allows Merchants to build a comprehensive guest profile to better understand their spending behaviour. Information can be delivered back to Merchants’ core enterprise systems to increase personalised marketing and highly targeted guest reward programs.

Steve O’Donovan, Chief Payments Officer at Planet said: “Since the announcement of the acquisition, we have received positive interest from leading multi-chain global hotel and Food & Beverage brands. We have been busy developing the first of what will be a number of exciting new propositions for our Merchant partners.

“Our combined Hospitality payments service allows hoteliers and restaurants to improve the guest experience and optimise revenue, and at the same time benefit from the efficiencies of managing a single payment platform.

“Following the FCA's approval and our subsequent completion of the deal with 3C Payment, our focus is on integrating the businesses. This means working with our new colleagues in 3C Payment to help Merchants across the Retail, Hospitality, Food & Beverage and Unattended sectors deliver an exceptional payments experience for their customers and grow their revenue with an expanded range of payments products and services.”

With over 30 years’ experience in Retail, Planet are also adding 3C integration services to a digital payments platform for European retailers. Merchants will benefit from a single platform purposely built for Retail. This includes full acquiring, payment acceptance of digital wallets, currency conversion, and tax refunds all processed through a single next-generation payment terminal.  The integrated solution for Retail is targeted for release in September 2020.