McDonald’s streamlines mobile payment in U.S.
McDonald’s is expanding a partnership with a global financial technology platform to maximize the convenience of its U.S. consumer app.
The fast-food hamburger giant is now supporting the payment capabilities of its U.S. consumer app with technology from Ayden. The two companies began working together in early 2020 in the U.K., and are now expanding to other markets globally.
McDonald’s increases ease for loyalty customers
In particular, this new U.S. mobile payment partnership will make life (and ordering food) easier for members of the McDonald’s MyRewards loyalty program. The company rolled out MyMcDonald’s Rewards, its first-ever national loyalty program in the U.S., at participating stores across the country via its mobile app in July 2021. The company began testing the program in November 2020, and then began gradually expanding it to select cities.
MyMcDonald’s Rewards offers members 100 points for every $1 spent on qualifying purchases, with 1,500 points for their first order through the program. Higher amounts of points unlock different rewards, so there are more free McDonald’s options to choose from with each tier a customer reaches. McDonald’s has automatically made the rewards program available in customers’ apps as it rolls out.
For example, loyalty customers are able to pay with their saved payment method on the McDonald's mobile app at the front counter, kiosk, or drive-thru using a four-digit code which provides convenience and supports operational speed.
[Read More: McDonald’s pilots faster ordering, payment solutions at drive-thru]
As part of its strategic growth plan, "Accelerating the Arches," McDonald’s is committed to innovation across digital, delivery and drive-thru. The fast-food giant entered into a strategic partnership with IBM in October 2021 to accelerate the development and deployment of its automated order-taking technology (AOT) in its drive-thru lanes. As part of the deal, IBM acquired McD Tech Labs, which was known as Apprente before McDonald’s acquired the artificial intelligence company in 2019.
"As consumer demand evolves, Adyen has responded to our needs in a rapidly changing market," said Whitney McGinnis, U.S. CIO at McDonald's. "Adyen has handled mobile volumes during peak events, such as promotions and rush times. Additionally, they helped improve the success rate for customers registering their preferred payment types to their digital profile and reduced card declines during order placement by using Real-time Account Updater technology. We look forward to where we take the partnership next."
"We've been working with McDonald's for several years now and it's been incredible to see how much we've expanded together in that time," said Kamran Zaki, COO at Adyen. "McDonald's is at the forefront of innovation in the QSR space as well as increasing the standard for customer experiences and we are happy to play a part in that global transformation including the U.S."
McDonald's is the world's leading global foodservice retailer with more than 39,000 locations in over 100 countries. Approximately 95% of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business owners.