ZAO Noodle Bar  

Connecting PC Cash Registers to a Restaurant's Broadband Network

How can a restaurant gain the speed and cost benefits of an IP-based transaction processing solution, without the capital and training expenses required by an IP terminal? ZAO Noodle Bar faced this dilemma, and today has deployed an inexpensive, seamless solution to eliminate monthly dial line costs and speed transactions.

While most restaurant managers are happy with their PC cash register, the growth of IP has provided new options for merchants looking to keep communication costs low and improve transaction speeds. Many of these merchants, who have access to broadband networks, turn to IP terminals. IP terminals offer a dramatic reduction in transaction speeds, but are often prohibitively expensive.

Founded in 1997, ZAO Noodle Bar is an Asian Noodle restaurant headquartered in San Francisco, California. ZAO wanted to retain their existing PC cash register, which worked well for their business. Their objective was to improve transaction speeds and lower their communications costs, all without replacing existing equipment.

ZAO turned to IP Merchant Solutions (IPMS), a solution provider delivering a secure, Internet-based, credit card transport solution. ZAO Noodle Bar's existing POS system is a PC cash register running off-the-shelf software, connected to their processor by dedicated dial line. By using Precidia's Ether232POS to convert the dial-based transaction to IP, IP Merchant Services is able to seamlessly connect ZAO's cash registers to a broadband, 3DES, VPN connectivity solution. This set up facilitates the secure delivery of credit card transactions over the Internet through IPMS's connectivity to ZOA Noodle Bar's credit card processor. With this connection established, transaction authorization takes place via broadband WAN without changing how cashiers enter transactions. With this solution implemented, each individual transaction takes less than 4 seconds to authorize and the use of IP cuts monthly costs by eliminating the dedicated dial line.

ZAO Noodles President & CEO Matthew Baizer says the move is in keeping with ZAO Noodle Bar's strategy to keep costs low and offer industry leading service: "We pride ourselves on delivering an industry leading dining experience. Technology at the point of sale is a part of the customer's dining experience. The ability to receive fast credit authorization with Precidia's IP converter and IPMS's unique IP-based transport solution has contributed to customer satisfaction, while lowering our costs."

• Reduced Communication Costs
  By migrating from a dedicated dial line, which typically costs $50 per month, onto an existing broadband network, merchants realize a monthly cost savings.


• Faster Transactions
  The Precidia implementation helped reduce transaction times dramatically to under 4 seconds, a typical result of migration to broadband IP.


• Retain Investment in Existing POS Equipment
  With Precidia, there is no need to replace or upgrade reliable existing equipment. Merchants can realize all of the benefits of IP without the cost of system replacement.

Precidia's line of POSConnect products are all designed to connect merchant transaction processing equipment to broadband networks for faster transactions and lower costs. Its POSLynx products provide excellent ROI to merchants by allowing up to four POS terminals to be converted to IP. Precidia's NetVu network configuration manager, sold with the POSLynx220 IP converter, improves the deployment of IP converters, by allowing all devices to be configured remotely, from one PC. This capability will ease the burden on merchants who lack in house technical resources.