Indonesian Wristband Payment System

Shaan shares his experience with Indonesian food courts and how they differ from American ones.

"I used to live in Indonesia. In Indonesia they do this thing that I've never really seen here but I really liked it. When you go into a food court in America, the experience is you walk in, there's nobody there to serve you, you just go and pick: do I want a slice from Sbarro? Do I want a sandwich? Do I want some fried chicken? You go, you buy your one thing, and you go sit down.

In Indonesia, the malls in general are a lot better, but the one thing they do for their food court is a little bit different. When you walk in they give you a wristband, almost like it's Coachella or something, and this wristband is your way to buy anything you want. The way they designed the flow, it's almost like an IKEA - you walk around and every booth has cool stuff. It's not super low quality food, it's still obviously fast food, but everything's branded well and the people working there are a little more upscale.

You start with a tray and you just keep adding different little plates from different vendors onto your one tray. At each one you just tap your wristband so the system knows what you've picked up, but it doesn't feel like you're spending money - it feels like you're opening a door. You sit down, you eat, and at the end when you leave, you put your tray down, scan your badge, and they tell you the damage and you pay for it on the way out.

I've always thought American food courts should steal this model. You spend way more and it's just a more fun experience - paying at the end once you've already had the little amusement park of food type of thing is pretty cool."