McDonald’s is the country’s best-loved fast-food joint serving over 25 million people in the US and 69 million a day worldwide.
If you’re heading to McDonald’s or perhaps you’re already there, you might be wondering whether you can use Apple Pay to pay for your meal.
To help you there we’ve covered in detail how you can use Apple Pay at McDonald’s.
Keep reading to find out…
Can You Pay With Apple Pay at McDonalds?: Short Answer
The short answer is that you can pay with Apple Pay at McDonald’s. However, you cannot use PayPal with Apple Pay as Apple Pay does not support it currently.
To use Apple Pay in-store, simply make your order and present the cashier with your iOS device which you can then scan on the contactless reader to pay.
Can You Use Apple Pay With the McDonald’s App?
When I initially downloaded the app, I was a bit annoyed to find that the payment options were limited.
However, I note that you can now use PayPal and Google Pay.
iOS users will also be glad to note that you can actually pay with Apple Pay using the McDonald’s app.
Simply install the McDonald’s app from the App Store and if you have Apple Pay set up then the option to use Apple Pay should appear with the payment options in the app.
To add payment options in the McDonald’s app you do the following:
- Click the “More” tab in the McDonald’s App (this is found on the bottom row to the far right-hand side)
- Go to “Profile” (the top option)
- Then click Payment Methods
- You can then add or remove your payment method details
As above, Apple Pay should already be detected if you’ve got it set up correctly.
Does McDonald’s Drive-Thru Accept Apple Pay?
You’ll be happy to hear that McDonald’s drive-thru does accept Apple Pay.
Essentially, McDonald’s drive-thru is no different from paying in-store.
Make your order through the speaker and then drive to the window where you will be presented with a contactless card reader.
You can then use your iOS device as normal to make payments using the Apple Pay app.
Does McDonald’s Take Apple Cash?
You can use Apple Cash at McDonald’s. You can use Apple Cash to pay for your McDonald’s the same as might do with a standard card or cash. Apple cash works wherever Apple Pay works and as Apple Pay works at McDonald’s, you can use Apple Cash there too. If you don’t want to use Apple cash for your McDonald’s then you can just send it to your bank account.
Other Ways to Pay For Your Meal at McDonald’s
As above, Apple Pay is well supported at McDonald’s but if you want to pay using another method there are plenty of other options also.
You can pay using the following:
- With cash (instore /drive-thru only)
- By using your credit or debit card using either the contactless method or chip and pin method
- With Samsung Pay (instore/drive-thru only)
- With Google Pay (instore/drive-thru/app)
- PayPal (app only)
Related Article:
Does Meijer Accept Apple Pay?
Is Apple Pay Safe to Use at McDonald’s?
While no digital payment (or any payment method for that matter) can be 100% safe from fraud, Apple Pay is fairly secure and comes with several layers of anti-fraud protection.
In fact, Apple Pay is safer than using a debit card or a credit card.
If someone steals your credit card or debit card then they can still use it contactlessly (usually up to a capped amount depending on where you’re from and/or which bank you use).
With Apple Pay, in order to use it, you have to input your password, use fingerprint recognition or face ID recognition to verify the payment.
This makes it pretty tricky to use for any thief or fraudster, especially in contrast to using a debit card.
Other Restaurants/Fast Food Joints that Accept Apple Pay?
Here’s a list of a few other fast food joints/restaurants that accept Apple Pay:
- Au Bon Pain
- Baskin-Robbins
- Chick-fil-A
- Chillis
- Coca-Cola Vending
- El Pollo Loco
- Firehouse Subs
- Fuddruckers
- Jamba Juice
- Dunkin’ Donuts
- Jersey Mike’s Subs
- Johnny Rockets
- KFC
- Luby’s
- Panera Bread
- Peet’s Coffee
- Rubio’s
- Subway
- Starbucks
- White Castle
Bottom Line
If you’re one of the 113 million iPhone users in the USA and you love McDonald’s, then you’re in luck.
Apple Pay is extremely well supported by McDonald’s and can be used in-store, at the drive-thru, and using the app.
This means that it is super easy to get your next Big Mac fix at the touch of a button.
