McDonald’s trials contactless fast food outlet in Texas

Man picking up order at McDonald’s contactless fast food outlet in Texas

McDonald’s is testing an automated contactless system at an outlet near Fort Worth in the US state of Texas that enables customers to order, pay for and collect food and beverages prepared by staff in the outlet’s kitchen from a conveyor belt without needing to use a conventional checkout or pick up their orders from a front-of-house employee... More



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Domino’s pilots cashless stores in Australia

Domino’s Is starting to ditch cash payments — Gizmodo Australia — “The pizza maker is calling it ‘Tap & Take’ and is positioning it as a way to make the ordering process both quicker and more convenient… Domino’s has stated that the participating stores will accept ‘all forms of payment’, except for cash. This includes card payments, PayPal, Apple Pay, Android Pay, EFTPOS to door and Instagift.”


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McDonald’s links up with Alibaba’s food ordering app to drive loyalty card sign ups

McDonald’s China links loyalty program to Ele.me app — Alibaba — “Starting this week, Ele.me users can activate a McDonald’s membership card with just one click on the app to earn loyalty points for purchases and receive vouchers worth up to RMB88.5 ($12.80). The fast food giant attracted nearly 20,000 new members on its first day of launching the service on May 20, while single-day orders increased about 20% week-over-week, McDonald’s China said.”



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Hyundai demos in-car payments with Chevron, Applebee’s and ParkWhiz

Hyundai and Xevo team up with Chevron, Applebee’s and ParkWhiz to showcase in-car payment at TU-Automotive Detroit — Hyundai Motor America — “With this technology, Hyundai expects to be able to offer customers the ability to: Find and pay for gas at participating Chevron- and Texaco-branded stations; Order and pay for Applebee’s To Go; Find, reserve and pay for parking with ParkWhiz.”


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Shake Shack rolls back its cashless store plans

Shake Shack first quarter 2018 earnings call — Shake Shack — “Some of the things we’ve clearly seen is that our guests do often want to pay with cash. In the first rollout at Astor Place, we did not accept cash at all. And there are people who have told us very clearly, ‘We want to pay with cash’. So in this next phase, we’re going to go ahead and have cashiers as well as kiosks.”


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Dunkin’ Donuts offers faster pickups to customers who order via mobile

Dunkin’ Donuts unveils next generation concept store in Quincy, MA — Dunkin’ Donuts — “An exclusive On-the-Go drive-thru lane lets DD Perks members who order ahead via Dunkin’s mobile app bypass the ordering lane and merge straight into the line for the pickup window… Dunkin’ Donuts has also introduced an area dedicated to mobile pickups, so that members of the DD Perks Rewards program who order ahead via Dunkin’s mobile app can get in and out of the restaurant faster than ever before.”


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KFC installs contactless donation stations across New Zealand

Tap to donate units in KFC support Surf Life Saving — SLSNZ — “The units will be placed at 40 selected KFC restaurants to enable customers to use their credit card and pay wave technology to make a quick and easy donation to Surf Life Saving New Zealand… The Donation Point Tap back end system feeds into the existing New Zealand Eftpos network, feeding funds straight to Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s bank account overnight, eliminating cash collection costs or risk of coin box theft.”


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Burger bar to let customers order and pay by face in California

Cali Group demonstrates face based loyalty program pilot in its restaurant operating division — Cali Group — “The kiosks use NEC’s NeoFace facial recognition software to identify registered customers and pull up their loyalty accounts and order preferences… Also in 2018, the platform will be used to allow customers to pay using their faces.”


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Bangkok street food vendors switch to mobile payments

Bangkok’s street food vendors are embracing mobile payments — Travel Wire Asia — “Street food vendors in Bangkok are embracing the digital revolution by offering e-payment methods for cashless transactions via smartphones… Vendors in the capital Bangkok are offering cashless payments after the Bank of Thailand (BOT) gave the green light for five banks to implement electronic payment systems using Quick Response (QR) barcodes.”


NFC World

Wembley to let fans store contactless tickets in their Apple Wallet

Contactless ticketing at Wembley Stadium — Wembley Stadium — “The innovation offers fans a new way to seamlessly and securely enter live events with contactless tickets added to Apple Wallet on their iPhone or Apple Watch… The integration of contactless tickets in Apple Wallet will simplify customers’ experience while enhancing security and fostering more personalised engagement with fans. As well as entering the stadium with their contactless tickets, fans can use Apple Pay to buy food and beverages with their iPhone or Apple Watch.”


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Shake Shack to open cashless kiosk in New York

Shake Shack to open cashless, kiosk-only location in New York City — CNBC — “Located in Astor Place, this Shake Shack won’t have a cashier’s counter. Instead, guests will use digital kiosks or their mobile phones to place orders. Manning these kiosks will be “hospitality champs,” Shake Shack employees who specialize in making customers’ time in the restaurant as seamless and enjoyable as possible.”


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Barclaycard marks the 10th anniversary of introducing contactless payments to the UK

Barclaycard marks the 10th anniversary of introducing contactless payments to the UK — Barclaycard — “Ten years on, over £60bn (US$77.67bn) has been spent using contactless and more than half of eligible transactions up to the £30 (US$38.83) limit are now made using the technology… Nine in 10 eligible transactions in fast food outlets (91%) and pubs and bars (89%) are now made using contactless.”


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Burger King has launched its own cryptocurrency in Russia called WhopperCoin

Burger King has launched its own cryptocurrency in Russia called WhopperCoin — CNBC — “With each purchase of the burger chain’s signature Whopper sandwich, customers can receive WhopperCoin tokens via a digital wallet… WhopperCoin transactions will be powered by Ethereum rival Waves’ distributed ledger network. The blockchain platform allows users to issue and transfer custom blockchain tokens, and to trade them on an integrated peer-to-peer exchange.”


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Alibaba’s self-service Tao Cafe takes e-shopping offline

Alibaba’s self-service Tao Cafe takes e-shopping offline — Xinhua — “Entry into Tao Cafe in Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province, is through ticket gates similar to those at subway stations, however, customers scan their smart phones instead of tickets… The 200-square-meter store offering beverages, fast food and snacks can accommodate 50 customers at a time. To enter and make a purchase, shoppers require only a smart phone with Alibaba’s Taobao ecommerce app.”