Fazoli's Restaurants Installs VeriFone Omni 3200 Payment Terminals for Credit Card Payment

Business Wire, Nov 6, 2000

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2000

Easy-to-Use VeriFone Solution Simplifies Italian Restaurant

Chain's Transition to Credit Acceptance

VeriFone, a division of Hewlett Packard, and leader in global e-payment solutions, announced today that Fazoli's(R) Restaurants, Lexington, Ky., has installed VeriFone Omni 3200 payment terminals with SoftPay software at 165 corporate owned restaurant locations. The VeriFone solution is also being offered as the preferred solution for Fazoli's 209 franchise and joint venture locations, and is currently being implemented by many of these locations. Midwest Payment Systems, owned and operated by Fifth Third Bank, is providing card processing and support services for Fazoli's.

Fazoli's Restaurants combine two dining concepts -- the Italian family restaurant and the fast-food outlet. VeriFone's Omni 3200 payment terminal with SoftPay software is being used to offer Fazoli's customers the convenience of credit card payment. SoftPay supports special features for the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) market, allowing Fazoli's to more quickly process transactions based on floor limits and other card-association regulations. SoftPay also includes more than 100 parameters that can be configured and customized to meet a merchant's particular needs.

"More and more people are using credit cards as a way of life, and we feel it is important for our restaurants to participate in this trend in order to attract a portion of this credit-payment market segment," said David Smith, CFO of Fazoli's Restaurants. "Our customers appreciate the convenience of credit card payment at our restaurants, especially our business lunch and catering business, which often prefers credit card payment. In addition, we've already seen that purchases made with credit cards have ticket averages 2.5 to 3 times larger than purchases made with cash."

The Omni 3200 is the fastest selling product in VeriFone's history, with over 100,000 units sold since the product's introduction in January. The Omni 3200 solution with SoftPay is easy-to-use and has the industry's fastest printer to produce receipts quickly. Its intuitive ATM-style interface simplifies training, keeping costs down and customers moving quickly through the lines. The sleek, compact design of the Omni 3200 takes up minimal counter space.

"We like the ATM-style layout of the Omni 3200. It is so self-explanatory that someone who has never used credit cards before can process a transaction with minimal training," said Dennis Bruins, manager of corporate accounting at Fazoli's Restaurants. "This was important for us since 120 of our corporate owned restaurants had never used credit cards before."

"Higher ticket averages and reduced cash handling are only a sample of the benefits that VeriFone's e-payment solutions can offer to the QSR market," Bud Waller, vice president of North American sales for VeriFone. "VeriFone's Omni 3200 with SoftPay offers a reliable, versatile, easy-to-use payment solution for any QSR, like Fazoli's Restaurants, looking to expand customer payment options."

About VeriFone

VeriFone (http://www.verifone.hp.com), a division of Hewlett-Packard Company, is the leading global provider of secure electronic-payment solutions for financial institutions, merchants and consumers. The division has shipped more than seven million electronic-payment systems, which are used in more than 100 countries.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services -- is focused on making technology and its benefits accessible to individuals and businesses through simple appliances, useful e-services and an Internet infrastructure that's always on.

HP has 86,000 employees worldwide and had total revenue from continuing operations of $42.4 billion in its 1999 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.