OpenTable on Monday announced plans to launch its mobile payments service in 20 new cities before 2015, following a pilot test in San Francisco. The company’s “pay with OpenTable” pitch mirrors the description of countless other “check, please” payment apps; it entices users to pay for their restaurant bill without the wait — a slight value-add for impatient diners with slow servers. Kicking off the “national expansion” plan, OpenTable on Monday launched in New York in partnership with 45 restaurants. To succeed, the company now must compete with a few local startups offering similar services, including Dash and Cover. OpenTable is already off to a strong start against the competition due to its flagship service, which, according to the company, enables “more than 15 million diners per month” to book restaurant reservations online.
