McDonald’s Currently Testing Mobile Payments

Craving that double cheeseburger and fries? Why not pay for it with the McMobile App?

Okay, that’s not really what it’s called - but McDonald’s is experimenting with a mobile payment app in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Austin, Texas locations, according to CNBC.

The fast food giant may be testing small-scale mobile wallets as an experiment to see if it can grab a piece of the rising mobile-payments industry, which is estimated to hit $62 billion by 2014.

If trials do prove successful, McDonald’s may choose to roll out nationwide - putting them in league with Chipotle and Starbucks, with Starbucks being notable for processing more than 4.5 million payments a week with its mobile app.

It’s been increasingly clear that mobile-payments and wallets don’t necessarily decrease the so-called “friction” of paying with cash or credit. But Starbucks can serve as an example that incentivizing mobile app usage by saving customers’ money and time can lead to greater sales. Some incentives to using the McDonald’s app include allowing customers to order from their mobile devices and picking it up at restaurant locations, exclusive promotions, and a loyalty rewards system.

McDonald’s previously tested mobile-payments with PayPal in France, Kuwait, and other locations around the world.

McDonald’s did not meet sales expectations, and it’s currently trying to add new menu items, and yes, even mobile-payments, to hit those marks.

Hmm, I wonder which smartphone Ronald uses. . .