A Bermudian-based company is rolling out a service that adds security and efficiency for restaurants and that accept payment from customers who use debit and credit cards.

Software company Powertranz had a successful pilot trial of the service in The Bahamas last year. It is now to be used in a number of other establishments in the country.

It is intended to increase the reach of the service in other parts of the Caribbean, and it can also be used by establishments in Bermuda.

The payment gateway service is called Powertranz SDK. It is compliant with a system created by US point-of-sale giant NCR Corporation.

For restaurants it provides a quick service for processing card payments from customers. It ensures card data is encrypted at the payment terminal to remove all clear text credit card data from the business owner's system. This is a safeguard against potential data breaches that could reveal customer information.

Chris Burns, chief executive officer of Powertranz, said the company has been working on the solution for two years, and put it into a live environment, at a chain restaurant. It is now in two locations, and is being extended to another ten.

Mr Burns said that by integrating with NCR's Aloha point-of-sale platform, Powertranz is introducing restaurant businesses across the Caribbean “to a whole new way of accepting card payments”.

He said: “This solution leverages sophisticated technology to protect clients from costly data breaches, dual entry mistakes and reconciliation issues.”

The service also uses point-to-point encryption created by payment security firm Bluefin, that is Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard validated.

Andy Caraballo, NCR's general manager for the Caribbean and Latin America, said: “Quick service and casual dining restaurants are extremely popular in the Caribbean, and they are undergoing rapid digitisation of business processes.

“Powertranz's strategic integration with out NCR Aloha platform empower Caribbean businesses to manage payments easily by establishing real time, integrated payments.”

The Aloha point-of-sale platform is used by more than 80,000 large and small restaurants around the world.

Powertranz is a sister company of First Atlantic Commerce.

• For more information, visit www.powertranz.bm