Post by Mech on Apr 2, 2004 14:25:20 GMT -5
MCDONALDS GETTING READY FOR THE CASHLESS SOCIETY
www.colloquy.com/cont_breaking_news.asp?id=40622&key=%23s4J6DpwqXV3
March 2004
McDonald's ends Speedpass test
March 31, 2004
We've been reporting with breathless anticipation for about a year now on how contactless payment systems are paving the way for customer loyalty solutions in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) space. But Cardline reports this week that the biggest player in the space, McDonald's Corp., has put the brakes on its own contactless payment migration. McDonald's says it will stop accepting ExxonMobil Corp.'s radio-frequency Speedpass transponders for payment as of June 30.
The fast-food chain began testing Speedpass acceptance in 440 Chicago and Northwest Indiana restaurants in 2000. The process is the same as using Speedpass at the gas pump at Exxon and Mobil stations: register your favorite credit or debit card, wave your key fob at the point of sale and off you go.
"We thought the test was going well, but McDonald's decided to use a different credit card payment platform," an ExxonMobil spokesperson told Cardline.
What this decision means for the future of contactless payment in the QSR space is anyone's guess. McDonald's is proceeding apace with its plans to accept PIN- and signature-based debit and credit cards with traditional magnetic stripes at all participating restaurants nationwide. It may be that they liked the technology, but are looking to squeeze a better deal out of a competing payment system such as MasterCard's Paypass. McDonald's isn't talking, so we'll have to wait and see.
But whither Speedpass? Don't shed any tears for ExxonMobil just yet. There are currently 6 million active Speedpass users in the U.S., and the payment platform is accepted at more than 8,500 Exxon and Mobil locations across the country, with 750 new stations signing on this year. Stop & Shop supermarkets in Boston also continue to test the technology, and the system also works at more than 1,600 Mobil and Esso locations in Canada, Japan and Singapore.
For more information about ExxonMobil's plans for Speedpass, read COLLOQUY's recent interview with Joe Giordano, ExxonMobil's vice president of business development with the Speedpass network, in Volume 11, issue 3, 2003.
www.colloquy.com/cont_breaking_news.asp?id=40622&key=%23s4J6DpwqXV3
March 2004
McDonald's ends Speedpass test
March 31, 2004
We've been reporting with breathless anticipation for about a year now on how contactless payment systems are paving the way for customer loyalty solutions in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) space. But Cardline reports this week that the biggest player in the space, McDonald's Corp., has put the brakes on its own contactless payment migration. McDonald's says it will stop accepting ExxonMobil Corp.'s radio-frequency Speedpass transponders for payment as of June 30.
The fast-food chain began testing Speedpass acceptance in 440 Chicago and Northwest Indiana restaurants in 2000. The process is the same as using Speedpass at the gas pump at Exxon and Mobil stations: register your favorite credit or debit card, wave your key fob at the point of sale and off you go.
"We thought the test was going well, but McDonald's decided to use a different credit card payment platform," an ExxonMobil spokesperson told Cardline.
What this decision means for the future of contactless payment in the QSR space is anyone's guess. McDonald's is proceeding apace with its plans to accept PIN- and signature-based debit and credit cards with traditional magnetic stripes at all participating restaurants nationwide. It may be that they liked the technology, but are looking to squeeze a better deal out of a competing payment system such as MasterCard's Paypass. McDonald's isn't talking, so we'll have to wait and see.
But whither Speedpass? Don't shed any tears for ExxonMobil just yet. There are currently 6 million active Speedpass users in the U.S., and the payment platform is accepted at more than 8,500 Exxon and Mobil locations across the country, with 750 new stations signing on this year. Stop & Shop supermarkets in Boston also continue to test the technology, and the system also works at more than 1,600 Mobil and Esso locations in Canada, Japan and Singapore.
For more information about ExxonMobil's plans for Speedpass, read COLLOQUY's recent interview with Joe Giordano, ExxonMobil's vice president of business development with the Speedpass network, in Volume 11, issue 3, 2003.