Mobile Payments Visionary to Address Restaurant Innovation Summit

Seth Priebatsch, a Forbes' 30 Under 30, is a featured speaker at National Restaurant Association's Annual Summit Focusing on Innovation and Emerging Restaurant Technologies

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National Restaurant Association

Oct 01, 2014, 06:02 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Restaurant Association announced today that Seth Priebatsch, founder and CEO of LevelUp, one of the nation's largest mobile payment networks, will be a featured speaker at this year's Restaurant Innovation Summit (RIS) October 28-29 in Atlanta. Priebatsch will be joined by a number of technology, marketing and payment industry luminaries and restaurant industry experts. The Summit will focus on technology, consumer behavior, and marketing – all aimed at streamlining restaurant operations and positively impacting operators' bottom lines.

"This year's Restaurant Innovation Summit will challenge our industry's norms and incite some creative thinking. We're creating the 'go-to' event for those in the industry who are driving change," said Phil Kafarakis, Chief Innovation and Member Advancement Officer for the National Restaurant Association.

"The energy that's building in the hospitality industry around the convergence of emerging technologies with consumer acceptance has caught the attention of entrepreneurial restaurateurs. To have Seth Priebatsch, one of tech's brightest stars address our attendees will definitely set the bar high for the entire Summit. We've got an impressive roster of thought leaders coming together to look at recent innovations and how they're implemented, and to suggest how our future may be impacted by new technologies.

"Mobile payment can no longer be called the future for retail and restaurants – because it's here now. Seth and his company, LevelUp, have been involved in developing new technology that creates an enhanced customer experience and better way to pay. As restaurateurs look to grow their business and stay ahead, our Summit will offer the chance to learn more about emerging technologies in mobile pay, loyalty behavior science, digital ordering and beyond – ways to help modernize operations, gain new customers and keep customers coming back."

Priebatsch is the founder and CEO of LevelUp, one of the largest mobile payment network in the country with more than 1.5 million users and accepted by over 14,000 merchants. LevelUp's goal is to lower the cost of mobile payments and enable merchants to harness data to reward customers through loyalty programs. LevelUp has the backing of major tech firms like Google Ventures, Balderton Capital, and Deutsche-Telekom. Priebatsch was named one of Forbes Magazine and Inc.'s "30 under 30" and QSR Magazine's "15 under 30."

This year's Summit will include breakout sessions that focus on using data to enhance hospitality and customer engagement, preparing, identifying and dealing with data breech, utilizing mobile payments and building and developing mobile apps. For a full list of sessions and speakers click here.

NRA research found that 63 percent of consumers say they have recently used restaurant-related technology options; more than two in five have used a smartphone to find restaurant locations and directions, or viewed menus and placed orders on a computer and one in five has ordered takeout/delivery or looked up nutrition information on a smartphone or tablet. In addition, more than half of all adults say they would opt for an electronic pay-at-the-table option if a fullservice restaurant offered it and two in five adults ages 18 to 34 say they would pay for their quickservice restaurant orders by mobile or wireless device if they could.

To register for the Summit, visit Restaurant.org/RIS.

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SOURCE National Restaurant Association