PNC acquires restaurant payments technology firm Linga

PNC Financial Services Group has purchased Linga, an early adopter of cloud-based transaction technology for the restaurant industry. 

The deal comes as the bank looks to bolster services for corporate and business clients and adjust to consumer expectations of a digital experience at restaurants. 

Founded in 2004, Linga sells a cloud-based "as a service" product that supports online ordering, payments, QR code-based menus and virtual kiosks, among other products. The company's flagship restaurant operating system, Linga rOS, was among the first web-accessible technology products for restaurants. Linga has operations in 48 countries and will immediately be embedded in PNC's existing digital solutions system. 

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

"Leveraging Linga's proprietary solutions and PNC's treasury management platform, we will be able to provide our restaurant and retail clients with the tools they need to keep up with ever-changing consumer expectations," Emma Loftus, executive vice president and head of PNC Treasury Management, said in a press release. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Like most retail categories, restaurants have changed their customer experience dramatically over the past three years, initially spurred by rapidly changing coronavirus protocols. Innovations such as mobile ordering, pay ahead and contactless payments, which existed before the pandemic, got a fresh look from restaurants.

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Other eateries, particularly in the quick-serve category, changed their layouts to accommodate a higher percentage of digital ordering. Chipotle, for example, debuted a concept store that does not have a dining room or service line, but instead relies entirely on an app, website or third-party ordering platform. 

These shifts have attracted banks such as Synovus, Wells Fargo and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which expanded their focus on restaurants, anticipating a need for financing and other products as the hospitality industry recovers and adjusts to the post-pandemic period.