Wed, 03/19/2014 – 21:09 by According to
Bloomberg, Burger King is readying an app upgrade that will allow users to pay with their smartphones. Little detail is provided beyond that.
There are already app-based payments using the chain’s “
Crown Card,” a stored value card that can be reloaded and can be presented physically or virtually via mobile phone (like Starbucks). It’s not clear if the Bloomberg report is referring to this or a new options to upload and store a credit card in the Burger King mobile app.
Regardless, the move will motivate fast-food rivals to similarly adopt in-app, mobile payments. Mobile ordering for in-store pickup (a la Chipotle) is expected to later roll out. The rationale behind the move is obvious: more efficiency, more customer data and greater overall customer satisfaction.
As I’ve argued elsewhere mobile transactions and self-service ordering will eventually eliminate many thousands of low-skilled cashier and service worker jobs in places like Burger King.
Finally this is another example of mobile payments being introduced in a very specific context. Broad, horizontal payments tools and platforms such as Google Wallet and Clinkle are struggling while in-app or stored card payments are taking off in more narrow contexts (e.g., Uber, OpenTable).
It’s likely that Burger King’s mobile payments will be widely adopted by loyal and regular customers. However it’s not clear this will improve the company’s competitive position vis-a-vis McDonald’s. I suspect McDonald’s will follow with its own mobile payments functionality in the relatively near future.
Update: QSR chain Wendy’s has now also
announced that it’s rolling out mobile payments.
