Subway has announced that starting October 1st it will begin accepting mobile based NFC payments.

Over 26,000 locations will allow their customers to use payment system. To provide the payment service Subway has partnered with Softcard, formerly known as ISIS Wallet, the joint venture created by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA, Inc. and Verizon Wireless.

The announcement comes just days after Apple announced its new NFC payment system called Apple Pay. There is no indication that the Subway launch coincides with the Apple announcement. Subway initially partnered with Softcard in 2013 and began testing the payment system in Salt Lake City earlier this year.

Subway plans to combine the Softcard system with its own Subway Card Rewards Program. This will allow cardholders to pay with Softcard and still collect Subway rewards points. So customers will be able to pay for their meals with a simple tap of their phones on the reader.

The feature, called SmartTap, will also send offers to Subway customers using the Softcard app. To promote the system, Subway and Softcard are offering $1 back on every $1 or more Subway purchase made using the American Express Serve card.

Quick-service restaurants (QSR) like Subway are expecting to see a steady rise in the use of mobile payment services. The National Restaurant Association says that QSRs could see 4 in 10 young adults using their mobile phones to pay for their orders.

Although mobile payment systems have been around for a while now, they have yet to take off. Massive efforts like Google Wallet have done little to speed adoption. The Subway announcement, however, combined with the news that Apple’s new iPhone will finally support NFC, could be a sign that the use of mobile payments will explode in the coming years.