Burger King Has an Edge on McDonald’s in Mobile Payments

May 12, 2017         By: Steven Anderson

Admittedly, for many, the issue of Burger King versus McDonald’s is mostly a point of personal taste. I personally prefer Burger King for sandwiches, but McDonald’s for fries. Oddly, I also prefer Burger King’s big red straws.

Anyway, there’s a more objective point at work, the issue of mobile payments. Based on word from Bloomberg, Burger King is currently edging out McDonald’s in both mobile payments and mobile ordering.

The Bloomberg report spells it out: Burger King has been hard at work bringing out and testing new mobile options, including mobile payments tests in Miami. This is all with an eye toward full national rollout, though the current word isn’t clear on when exactly that will happen.

McDonald’s, by comparison, is planning a release by the end of the year, with mobile payment and mobile order options. Customers will be able to pick up orders at the front counter, at the drive-thru window, or in a new and probably kind of pointless twist, curbside delivery. Burger King, therefore, has a great opportunity to jump ahead of McDonald’s by just bringing its own versions out faster.

As noted by Burger King president Jose Cil: “Our guests want to interact with us in more convenient ways, and we’re looking to put our brand in the palm of their hands.” This is absolutely true; customers do want that option, and to be honest, they want it all over.

It’s one of the biggest reasons that drone delivery is so increasingly pursued, though not so much by the Federal Aviation Administration, who almost seems to be actively blocking it.

Whether it’s being picked up or delivered doesn’t really matter. Those who make the whole process easier and more convenient to work with are the ones who are likely to come out ahead in the end. We’ve already seen this work—and almost too well—for Starbucks, and if Burger King (or McDonald’s, really) can learn from these experiences and put them to use, then the end result is likely to be a lot of happy customers.

The one who gets it in play first, though, is likely to come out ahead.