Fast food by phone: McDonald's is finally catching up with mobile pay
The crown jewel of fast food is finally joining other restaurants in offering pay-by-phone ordering.
McDonald's will be the latest chain to offer the option of ordering burgers and more from the touch of a smartphone. Starbucks, Wendy's, Chipotle and Taco Bell are some of the many chains that have already jumped on the mobile pay bandwagon.
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McDonald's will start offering pay-by-phone beginning next year, in 20,000 to 25,000 restaurants across the U.S. and in countries such as Canada, Australia, the UK and France. Other new options will include pay kiosks at restaurants. Right now, there are 7,000 kiosks that are mostly in Europe, Becca Hary, a McDonald's spokeswoman, told Mashable in an email.
"Providing our customers with choice and convenience is an important part of the restaurant experience at McDonald’s," Hary wrote.
Convenience is probably the biggest thing fast food lovers are looking for. The mobile pay options at places like Chipotle and Starbucks have offered a whole new world of zero lines.
In fact, with so many competitors already on the mobile market, the McDonald's debut feels a bit delayed. The bargain burger chain's current app mostly just offers special deals like free chicken nuggets with the purchase of a meal.
Still, the mobile pay option at some places have faced technically difficulties. Some issues include restaurants not offering certain menu items on their apps or even taking longer to complete an app order than a regular one.
McDonald's tried testing mobile pay options at some stores earlier this year, but later ditched their efforts. At the time, customers were already warming up to the idea of ordering through the app.
Industry experts have said that paying by app should actually seem typical by now.
"This isn’t new technology, it’s something that should be fairly standard nowadays," Neil Saunders, CEO of retail consulting firm Conlumino, told Business Insider.
Marissa is a real-time news intern at the LA office. She has a bachelor's degree in political science from UC Santa Barbara and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. She's a free spirit.
