back to article You know where Apple Pay is getting used a LOT? Yes - McDonalds

Half of all McDonald's US touch purchase transactions are now made using Apple Pay, the fast food giant has announced. You'd think Apple fans would be more likely to buy trendy organic nosh at Whole Foods than walk under the Golden Arches to buy a supersize meal. But the iColytes of Cupertino are seemingly willing to do both …

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  1. theblackhand

    So....

    Will iPhone buyers now be asked if they want fries with their order?

    1. Tom 35

      Re: So....

      No, it will be...

      Would you like to supersize that for $100?

      1. Darryl

        Re: So....

        Supersize your memory from 16GB to 32GB

        1. Fluffy Bunny
          Holmes

          Re: So....

          "Supersize your memory from 16GB to 32GB"

          Who imagines that 32GB is super?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So....

      Must be down to the recession. Still at least they can still afford to go out, the Android lot don't even feature in the statistics.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Holmes

        Re: So....

        Not the recession. Here in good ol 'Merica, Walmart is now one of the biggest sellers of iPhones and iPads. Can't walk into a Walley-mart without being bombarded with signage for super-sales on Apple goodies.

        And you know where Bubba and Cindylou are headed once they've picked up their new shiny-shiny from Walmart? Straight to Mickey-D's for a double-bacon double-cheese BigMac, super fries and an extra large DIET Coke (got to watch those calories, you know). Fortunately for Bubba and Cindylou and their aching knees, most Walmarts in 'Merica now have a McDonalds right inside the store.

  2. ukgnome
    Facepalm

    iColytes ???

    seriously

    1. frank ly

      Re: iColytes ???

      Yes, people who suffer from colitis due to bonking before eating fast food.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Translation please

    Is "rollneck" en_US for "polo neck" (en_GB)?

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Translation please

      Yes - they don't play polo.

    2. SkippyBing

      Re: Translation please

      "Tactleneck" en_archer

    3. Eddy Ito

      Re: Translation please

      No, in en_US it's turtleneck

      1. Elmer Phud

        Re: Translation please

        So, what pokes through it is a turtle's head?

        1. Telboy

          Turtles Head?

          What's the difference between "Turtles head" and "Touching Cloth" ?

        2. Eddy Ito
          Coat

          Re: Translation please

          So, what pokes through it is a turtle's head?

          Just to be clear, we're talking clothes and not a cold shower after a circumcision, right?

          The one with the little snapper in the pocket.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ownership of Apple products once indicated a top 5% IQ. This data shows that the inverse is now true…

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Khaptain Silver badge

      That should read as follows :

      The top 5% of Apple users actually have an IQ...

    3. Badvok

      "Ownership of Apple products once indicated a top 5% IQ."

      Nope, ownership of Apple products has never been any sort of indicator of IQ, it did indicate a number of other things though, and still does.

      1. VinceH

        Quite. The only place ownership of Apple products indicated a high IQ was in the minds of Apple shkit owners.

  5. Charles 9

    Might this have to do with the fact that McDonalds is one of the few national chains that still takes contactless payments? Burger King dropped their support and many other chains don't even have PIN Pads. And we've heard the stories of CVS and such dropping NFC support. With so few retailers accepting NFC, McDonald's is simply sticking out. And with the big boys like Walmart staunchly against it, I doubt NFC will get much more traction barring a big development (I will note that while Walmart's betting on NFC failing--their new C&P-ready pads completely lack the capacity IINM--other retailers are hedging their bets with pads that COULD do it but have the feature turned OFF).

    1. Mark 85

      Dear old Mickey D's is falling fast in market share and profit. Something about chicken wings..... but I digress. They need all the customers they can get and if pay-by-bonk gets a few more in the door, they're happy.

    2. Greg J Preece

      In North America it's way more popular. Here in Canucksville I can pay by tap at probably a third to half of the shops I visit. Canadian Superstore, 7-11, Starbucks, Wendys, HMV, etc all support pay by tap. It's supplied as standard in pretty much all new readers, but some retailers choose to turn it off.

      1. Charles 9

        7-Eleven (at least in the US) dropped support a year ago. So did Wawa. Wendy's last I checked did not feature PIN pads.

  6. returnmyjedi

    I sauntered into the McDonalds in Milton Keynes last week and not only could I bonk n pay (not with Apple Pay being in the UK, plus not owning the new Super Sized models) but they also had Qi wireless chargers on the tables. As I merrily charged my Lumia a couple of hood rats spotted this and tried unsuccessfully to do the same with their iPhone 6s. They even complained to one of the scary clown's representatives when they couldn't tap into the wireless juice, stating that iPhones "work wirelessly now". Bless em.

    1. Kevin Johnston
      Joke

      Just hope they didn't get too bent out of shape.

      Yeah, I was going anyway

    2. Steven Raith

      Putting your phone down, in the open, in a McDonalds?

      Are you asking for it to be nicked?

      And I'm not being a twat - I had similar comments RE pay by bonk on London buses!

      1. returnmyjedi

        "Putting your phone down, in the open, in a McDonalds?

        Are you asking for it to be nicked?"

        One of the benefits of owning a Windows Phone is that no one would ever consider nicking it, however easy the pilfering may be.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Given the rather huge number of chavs I see with iPhones it's no surprise to me.

    1. Handy Plough
      FAIL

      And yet you'd gave us all believe that the iPhone's share is minuscule compared to android. Which is it?

      1. Greg J Preece

        A smaller share of a massive market is still quite a few people.

        1. Handy Plough

          Nice try Greg. You chaps are so fickle...

      2. Fluffy Bunny

        And yet you'd gave us all believe that the iPhone's share is minuscule compared to android. Which is it?"

        Android phones don't show up as special. They just look like a regular contactless payment, just like somebody that uses their card.

        BTW, in Asia, using phones for contactless payment is apparently much more popular.

        1. Handy Plough

          So iPhones look 'special' and Android phones don't? Are you essentially saying that iPhones look nice and Android phones generally don't? Can I quote you on that?

          1. VinceH

            "So iPhones look 'special' and Android phones don't? Are you essentially saying that iPhones look nice and Android phones generally don't? Can I quote you on that?"

            He doesn't mean their appearance, he's talking about the way they show up in the records of contactless payment systems.

            But in terms of appearance, in the eyes of chavs and those who think such things matter, it's the branding, if anything, that is perceived as somehow magically 'special'.

  8. ratfox

    Half of all McDonald's US touch purchase transactions are now made using Apple Pay

    What's the other half? Android, or NFC-enabled cards?

    1. jonathanb Silver badge

      Re: Half of all McDonald's US touch purchase transactions are now made using Apple Pay

      I'm guessing NFC cards. While I have had bonking facilities for the past 2 years on my Galaxy Note, there isn't much available, at least in the UK, to actually make use of it. I can tap my Oyster card against it, and it will show me the balance on it, in the same way that it does if I load the app. It's a nice gimmick, but not actually that useful.

      Even if I could bonk my phone on a ticket barrier, I probably wouldn't, because bonking a plastic card is much easier.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Half of all McDonald's US touch purchase transactions are now made using Apple Pay

        You are bonking it wrong!

      2. P. Lee
        Holmes

        Re: Half of all McDonald's US touch purchase transactions are now made using Apple Pay

        +1 for cards.

        Even thinner than an iphone! (that may seem magical, but its true!)

        Designed to bend without breaking

        You can keep it in your shoe

        Includes, "You're not holding it right" orientation feature.

        Outperforms the iphone in drop-tests

        Cheaper

        Its Platinum (or so it says)

        Available with any phone - such as a Nokia 3610i

        Can continue making phone calls while paying for stuff

        Also works at non-pay-by-bonk outlets

        Can be used for transactions over $100 (Useful in a place which serves food)

  9. Alan W. Rateliff, II

    Sorry, Mr. Subtitle: No "Super-Size" in the U.S.

    Litigation by slip-and-fall lawyers on behalf of people who could not accept the responsibility for their own gluttony -- and who probably still cannot or do not accept their own responsibility for anything -- saw this through.

  10. G R Goslin

    Figures

    It figures. I've only visited McDonalds twice. The first time I couldn't believe how bad the food and drink were. The second time I did believe. There was no need for a third time.

    1. Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face

      Re: Figures

      I waited at the door for a few minutes and left when nobody came to show me to a table.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Figures

      Aren't you special?

    3. Tom 35

      Re: Figures

      Wait until you try KFC and Taco Bell.

    4. Greg J Preece

      Re: Figures

      Haven't eaten at a UK McD's since I was a teen, because even back then I could easily conclude it was the worst possible food I could get for my money. After moving here, a friend convinced me that NA McD's is waaaaay better and I should try it out. It isn't. It's dreadful.

      You want me to eat a fast food drive-through burger? Wendys or GTFO.

  11. Gene Cash Silver badge

    "double bonk"

    That wasn't Apple's problem, that was incompetence (surprise!) at Bank of America.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "double bonk"

      Jesper knows, he just doesn't care as he can toss it in to make Apple look bad. He'll continue to mention it in every single article he writes about Apple Pay.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "double bonk"

        Don't let something like 'the facts' get in the way of negative spin on an Apple story...

        1. Greg J Preece

          Re: "double bonk"

          He didn't say it was Apple's fault, he just mentioned it. If you had personally caused that bug, how much of what he wrote would have to change to still be correct?

  12. Ken Y-N
    Linux

    Here in the land of the rising bonk

    Just this week I moved up to the Tokyo region, so needed to pay my train commute. Rather than spend 500 yen to buy a Suica card (Oyster equivalent) I downloaded a Suica app to my Android phone, charged 3,000 yen to my card via carrier billing, and Bobbu-san was my uncle.

    Penguin as the Suica mascot is one.

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