McDonald’s, along with its franchisees, in the UK and Ireland, is leading the way in tuning in to how consumers pay, rolling out a click and collect app, in-store kiosks and Drive Thru contactless payments all aimed at handling contactless cards and Apple and Google Pay mobile payments.
The fast food retailer has signed up with Ingenico Group to create a modern, seamless payment structure to be able to offer customers this wide variety of cutting-edge payment options – options that allow consumers to quickly and easily pay how they want: something denied them in many other retail outlets.
McDonald’s business is built on speed and convenience and it is showing just how to do that at the traditional pain points of ordering and paying. The fast food giant has long realised that making it quicj and easy is the key and so is offering as many ordering and payment options as it can to keep customers coming back for more.
And it seems to be working. McDonald’s has enjoyed considerable growth with around 3.7million visits every day to its restaurants. Lovers of the Golden Arches can now pay for their fast food favourites in a variety of ways that are convenient to them; via the McDonald’s Click and Collect app, through in-restaurant self-service order screens or when using a Drive Thru.
Consumers don’t want to queue, they want to order quickly and easily – often happily doing so on a screen or their own device – and want to pay electronically. McDonald’s is tapping into this and all retailers should take note: this is how modern shoppers shop, and not just for burgers.
In the UK, electronic payments have overtaken cash in many places. With the sharp uptake of contactless technology – now more than 1 in 3 transactions according to UK finance – this shows no signs of slowing down.
Ingenico has worked closely with McDonald’s and its franchisees, who make up over 80% of the estate, to deliver the technology to cope with the forecasted growth of cashless payments, as well as new payment technologies such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. The solution has been successfully deployed to all McDonald’s restaurants across the UK and Ireland.
Jon Braithwaite, Director of IT, McDonald’s Restaurants Limited, explains: “We believe that this payment solution is one of the most advanced in the retail sector and is a critical component to delivering excellent experience for our customers. Leveraging Ingenico’s experience of implementing complex payment programmes, our teams have been able to deliver the new service ahead of schedule, on budget and with the outstanding performance level we expected. Ingenico’s payment security expertise, scale and commitment to innovation give us the confidence that we have the right partner to support our needs now and into the future.”
Ian Benn, Senior Vice President, Commercial, Enterprise Retail, Ingenico Group, adds: “Throughout its history, McDonald’s has been a leader in customer service innovation. Ingenico is very proud to be able to play a part in that story, speeding up service, adding new payment options and staying ahead of the pace.”
Image: McDonald’s
