OpenTable, acquired by Priceline for $2.6 billion this past June,  will begin to expand the mobile payment service nationwide in the next coming months. This new feature, which was launched as a trial earlier this year in San Francisco, will allow users to book their reservations and then pay for their meals all through the OpenTable iPhone app. According to the company the app allows the user to connect it with a credit card without having to scan or use bar codes in the process; making it very streamlined and user friendly. Having started to roll out mobile payments in New York (about 45 restaurants to date), OpenTable expects to extend the service to 20 additional cities in the USA.

Eliminating the often annoying process of waiting for the check by paying via mobile app should lead to a faster turnover which in turn will drive revenue. OpenTable will not be charging an extra fee for using mobile payments. An OpenTable spokesperson also commented that the ability to pay with the app will encourage trends in tip and check-size. There are other companies that have also adopted mobile payment services such as PayPal and Cover. Senior Analyst Joran McKee states that, “OpenTable’s prospects look particularly promising, as it has relationships with 31,000 restaurants from its reservation service that it can tap into.”

Some New York restaurants that are adding OpenTable’s mobile payments services are Agave, Café Luxembourg, Il Buco, Le Cirque, Ruby Foos and The Odeon. To read more about OpenTable’s mobile payment services roll out, click here