Sunday is the fastest way in the world to pay in a restaurant, enabling customers to pay in under 10 seconds. My co-founder at Big Mamma, Tigranne Seydoux and I have joined forces with Christine de Wendel to raise a €20 million seed round that will support the launch and expansion of Sunday worldwide.
We wanted to change the way customers pay in restaurants and welcome the payment process to the 21st century. As we speak, Sunday is available in the Big Mamma groups restaurants globally, with Circolo Popolare and Gloria launching here in the UK.
In addition to this, the payment solution will be implemented into thousands of restaurants including the Hoxton, the JKS Groups, Hoppers, Brigadiers, Gymkhana, Flors and Corbyn & King locations, The Wolseley, Bellanger, Colbert, Zedel and many more.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
The story of Sunday is quite simple. Following the first lockdown, to reduce health risks, we launched this QR code at Big Mamma and the results just went far beyond the health aspect and what we were expecting.
After 3 months, 80% of our customers were using this. Moreover, our table turnover was 15 minutes faster than before. It means that at 1pm, when everybody piles into the restaurant for lunch, we can now welcome customers that we would previously have had to refuse, resulting in an extra 15% turnover.
In addition, our waiters have seen their tips increase by 40% and have been able to concentrate on their core business: taking care of the customers. Last but not least: the payment process is 2 to 3 times cheaper.
We do much better, for much less!
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What can we hope to see from SUNDAY in the future?
The ultimate goal is to become the PayPal for bricks & mortar businesses, creating a seamless, simple and fast payment experience. We offer restaurateurs a more competitive payment solution compared to credit card companies, as well as the opportunity to turn tables quicker, increase tips for waiters and spend more time on enhancing the customer experience rather than processing payments.
We want the Sunday app to be recognised internationally as a quick and easy payment process, no matter what restaurant you are in or the language you speak.
Has the pandemic affected the need for innovation like SUNDAY in the restaurant industry?
Speaking as a restaurateur myself, I am always looking for ways to optimise the way I run my restaurants.
From the reaction we have already received on implementing Sunday in restaurants worldwide, I think it is clear that operators are hungry for change and open to using new technology if it is going to have a meaningful benefit to their business and the customer.