Burger King Teams Up with PayPal for Mobile Payment

Zacks Equity Research

The mobile payment battle in the restaurant industry seems to be heating up. Reportedly, Burger King Worldwide, Inc. (BKW) became the latest fast food restaurant to ink a deal with PayPal – a subsidiary of eBay Inc. (EBAY) – for mobile payments. PayPal, a payment and money transfer company, will introduce a mobile payment service, Burger King app, at the Burger King’s restaurant chain for iOS and Android users, which will be rolled out across the U.S. by early next year.

Developed in partnership with Tillster, the Burger King payment service will use PIN codes to let people order food. Guests willing to pay using PayPal can generate a four-digit pin through the app and then use the pin to pay at the counter. Further, the app will provide access to menu items and allow guests to view nutritional information of the ordered item.

In a quick-service chain like Burger King, speed is the key to raking up maximum profits. These restaurants are always on the lookout for innovative methods to speed up its processes.

Customers are also looking for any opportunity to save time, and mobile payments can considerably speed up the process of ordering and paying. This is beneficial especially during rush hours as complex menus hamper the payment as well as ordering process, leading to errors. Further, the new app will offer users special deals and loyalty schemes for repeat visitors, which is expected to bring in more traffic.

The fact that technology has started to play a major role in restaurants can be highlighted by the fact that biggies like McDonald's Corp. (MCD) and Panera Bread Co. (PNRA) are offering mobile ordering support through their apps. With the growing number of smartphone mobile ordering and payment applications, investments in technology are contributing a major part of the revenue stream for these restaurateurs.

Burger King currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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