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Wendy's Updates iOS App to Enable Mobile Payments at U.S. Locations

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Wendy's has updated its My Wendy's app for iOS devices with the ability to take mobile payments at most of its 5,800 locations in the United States, reports The Associated Press. The fast-food restaurant chain has reportedly been developing its mobile payment system over the past year, testing its app at some of its locations throughout the country.

Once opened, the app allows users to find the nearest restaurants accepting the new mobile payment system, which can be enabled through the creation of a Wendy's profile. Unlike the process of mobile payments by other merchants however, a mobile payment at a Wendy's restaurant is processed by showing a cashier a generated six-digit number. According to Wendy's Digital Vice President Brandon Rhoten, this method was enabled to make it more convenient for customers going through pickup windows.

wendys_mobile_payment-800x469.jpg
The move reflects a push by fast-food chains to court younger customers by tapping into the attachment they have to their phones.

"If they want to come in and give us business, we want to allow them to pay the way they want to pay," Craig Bahner, chief marketing officer for Wendy's, said in a phone interview.
Click to expand...
The move comes as a number of other restaurants have begun to implement mobile payment systems, with Chipotle, Domino's Pizza, and Pizza Hut all adding support in their respective apps. Taco Bell announced last month that it would be rolling out its mobile ordering platform nationwide later this year, with Burger King expected to follow suit with its own platform. McDonalds, the world's largest fast food chain, is also expected to launch a mobile payment system sometime in future, with testing currently underway at some of its U.S. locations.

The updated My Wendy's app for iOS devices is available now in the App Store. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Wendy's Updates iOS App to Enable Mobile Payments at U.S. Locations
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/03/23/wendys-app-mobile-payments-us/
AstronomyiPhone

AstronomyiPhone

macrumors regular
Jun 9, 2013
156
6
Maryland
I feel like this is becoming more and more entrenched as we get more and more applications to do the payments...

This is what Passbook was meant to solve, and I still don't see why it didn't catch on.

The best way to do this would be to either have a unified payment system or find a way to round up all of the payment systems into one method (i.e. Passbook).
 
E

ethanlee

macrumors regular
Jun 12, 2011
142
0
California
dumastudetto said:
This kind of innovation is great news for consumers and the kind you only get from iOS devices.
Click to expand...

Agreed, great push forward with mobile payments, but that doesn't make Apple the king of payment innovation. What about all those Bitcoin wallet apps they decided to ban?
 
C

campingsk8er

macrumors 6502a
Feb 4, 2011
548
248
Elizabethtown, PA
I know it's mostly for security reasons, but I wish we could get to the point where instead of mobile payments being hooked up to a gift card thing, it would just be hooked up with your credit card and it would take it directly from that. I still have $3 on my dunkin donuts card in passbook with no DD's around.
 
iBlazed

iBlazed

macrumors 68000
Feb 27, 2014
1,594
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New Jersey, United States
I seriously don't get it. How is this of any benefit whatsoever to me? I go to Wendy's, order my food, and swipe my credit card. The end. Why in hell do I need an app for every restaurant I patronize that basically serves as a prepaid gift card? How is this good or innovative in any way? I'm all for innovation, but I just don't see it here. Maybe I'm completely missing something, but I'm just not willing to basically buy prepaid gift cards in the form of mobile apps for every restaurant.

----------
dumastudetto said:
This kind of innovation is great news for consumers and the kind you only get from iOS devices.
Click to expand...

Please, explain to me how this is innovation? It's a gift card in the form of an app, that's all it is. How is it innovative???
 
Solver

Solver

macrumors 65816
Jan 6, 2004
1,220
3,192
USA
How many of those new CryptoCoins does it take to buy a hamburger these days?
 
iBlazed

iBlazed

macrumors 68000
Feb 27, 2014
1,594
1,249
New Jersey, United States
bpbatch said:
With more automation like this, businesses will be needing less order processing, meaning less jobs. These fast food workers holding their little living wage protests will spon have to worry about simply livong, let along bringing home a wage.
Click to expand...

Maybe they should consider going into mobile app development.
 
P

peterh988

macrumors 6502a
Jun 5, 2011
625
1,028
AstronomyiPhone said:
I feel like this is becoming more and more entrenched as we get more and more applications to do the payments...

This is what Passbook was meant to solve, and I still don't see why it didn't catch on.

The best way to do this would be to either have a unified payment system or find a way to round up all of the payment systems into one method (i.e. Passbook).
Click to expand...

Yep, it needs to be funded from one source, I assume/hope that will eventually be your iTunes account balance. Retaining and managing small balances on a dozen different cards is a pain, and will stifle uptake.
 
B

bikeoid

macrumors newbie
Jul 3, 2010
16
3
peterh988 said:
Yep, it needs to be funded from one source, I assume/hope that will eventually be your iTunes account balance. Retaining and managing small balances on a dozen different cards is a pain, and will stifle uptake.
Click to expand...

They had to find a way around Apple taking 30% of all in-app purchases.
 
ArtOfWarfare

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,558
6,058
Nice app. I just checked - it seems to work with every Wendy's within 25 miles of me. I'll try it next time I eat there (maybe once a month).
 
P

ptb42

macrumors 6502a
Oct 14, 2011
703
184
AstronomyiPhone said:
This is what Passbook was meant to solve, and I still don't see why it didn't catch on.
Click to expand...

In this case, the app does more than just pay the bill. You can build and submit your order. If it was just a reloadable gift card with a bar code, Passbook could be used -- and even show your remaining balance.

AstronomyiPhone said:
The best way to do this would be to either have a unified payment system or find a way to round up all of the payment systems into one method (i.e. Passbook).
Click to expand...

Or, just provide the capability to pay with a credit or debit card.

I use the Mooyah Burger app about once a week. I order as I'm leaving home, and it's ready a minute or two after I arrive. The staff knows me by name, so I can walk right to the pickup counter. My favorite is already loaded, I submit the order and pay with a credit card already loaded into the app.

The app could use some polishing: favorites are associated with locations, and you can't delete an old favorite (after I moved across town). Expired credit cards can't be deleted either, so it's a bit confusing when selecting the payment source.
 
B

brandonrhoten

macrumors newbie
Mar 24, 2014
1
0
Brandon from Wendy's

Hey, all. Appreciate the interest in the app. On the "should have used iBeacons" or other tech front, we're testing many options including a digital offers system, ordering, and other technologies to allow people to connect with the restaurant.

The reason we're not using Passbook is they do not support dynamically generated codes at this time. Bar codes aren't 1) secure enough and 2) require you to reach your expensive smartphone out of the window at a drive-through (not ideal, in our opinion).

With 6500 locations world-wide there's a lot of trial-and-error we need to go through to figure out what works best for most.

Happy to answer any questions about our app or why we're doing what we're doing.

Thanks,
Brandon, VP of Digital at Wendy's
 
2

2457282

Suspended
Dec 6, 2012
3,327
3,015
brandonrhoten said:
Hey, all. Appreciate the interest in the app. On the "should have used iBeacons" or other tech front, we're testing many options including a digital offers system, ordering, and other technologies to allow people to connect with the restaurant.

The reason we're not using Passbook is they do not support dynamically generated codes at this time. Bar codes aren't 1) secure enough and 2) require you to reach your expensive smartphone out of the window at a drive-through (not ideal, in our opinion).

With 6500 locations world-wide there's a lot of trial-and-error we need to go through to figure out what works best for most.

Happy to answer any questions about our app or why we're doing what we're doing.

Thanks,
Brandon, VP of Digital at Wendy's
Click to expand...

Thank you for the clarification. Although technology has progressed quite a bit, it is clear there is still more that needs to be developed. your point about sticking a phone out of the window at a drive through is clearly an important point. Another issue that has been taken up here is that of needing multiple apps -- one for each establishment.

I do not know what the answer is, but we are going to need some integration and consolidation down the road. NFS, Passbook, bitcoin, etc -- we need a universal, secure, and convenient way to pay. I would love for it to live in my phone so I don't need to carry a wallet full of plastic cards. We will also need some universal way to place orders so that I do not have to clutter my phone with apps for every food establishment that I visit. Until then, either folks like Wendy's create apps or sit on the sideline and wait.

Having said that, I congratulate Wendy's for taking a bold step and pushing us forward.
 
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