Waiting in line for what was meant to be fast food can take the edge off a tasty meal. But quick service restaurants (QSRs) are complicated operations: real-time manufacturers serving hundreds, if not thousands, of hungry customers every day. And the QSR sector just seems to be growing in popularity as more consumers demand food on the go. About 80 percent of Americans eat out at QSRs at least once per month, half the population eats there at least twice a week, and roughly seven percent do so every day. If that wasn’t enough, the coveted Millennials eat out at an average of three or four times per week and spend almost half of their food budget at QSRs.

With the bigger QSR chains leading the way, many establishments are now offering the ability for customers to order their meal ahead of time through a smartphone app. Just select from the menu and indicate the pickup time. No need to wait in line, and the payment happens instantly in the background, all controlled by the app with no need for cash or cards. Consumers can beat the lunchtime rush and simply waltz in, pick up their meal and go about their business without the lengthy wait. No fuss, no mess, no hassle.

Embedding the payment mechanism is a vital component to making this work. After downloading a QSR’s app, customers register their preferred payment mechanism and never need to look for their wallets or a card again.

But this is not limited to single QSR chains read more