McDonald’s is one of the world’s most loved restaurants turning over $23b of revenue every year.
If you’re at McDonald’s or are thinking of going, you might be wondering what payment options you can use and specifically whether you can use PayPal.
To help you there we’ve taken a look and provided the answer below.
Can You Pay With PayPal at Mcdonald’s?: Short Answer
You can’t pay at McDonald’s with PayPal directly in-store or at the drive-thru.
For example, you can’t go into the PayPal app and send McDonald’s money for your meal.
However, there are some ways that you can pay for your McDonald’s meal indirectly with PayPal and we will come onto those below.
We will also cover other ways you can pay for your meal at McDonald’s.
Can You Use PayPal on the McDonald’s App?
McDonald’s now has an app that you can download from the Play or Apple stores.
I downloaded the app recently to try it out.
Essentially, it allows you to place your order before you get to the restaurant or you can do it while you’re there.
You can then pick up your order from inside the restaurant and at some branches, they bring the meal out to a special waiting area in the car park.
Unfortunately, when I first downloaded it, it didn’t support PayPal.
However, I am now happy to report that it does.
You will see the option to add PayPal in the payment options which looks like this:
You can also use Apple pay and Google pay when using the app or you can simply insert your debit/credit card details to pay in the traditional way.
Indirect Ways to Pay at McDonald’s With PayPal: Use PayPal with Google Pay and Samsung Pay
If you buy your food in the restaurant, then you can pay for your meal with PayPal set up on Google Pay (previously Android Pay) or Samsung Pay.
Simply set up PayPal in these apps and then you can use them whilst in the restaurant to purchase your meal.
However, Apple Pay does not currently support PayPal and therefore this indirect method of using PayPal at McDonald’s will not work with apple devices.
Other Ways to Pay at McDonald’s
Even though you can’t directly pay for your meal at McDonald’s with PayPal, you can still pay as follows:
- With cash (instore only)
- With your credit or debit card using the chip and pin machine (instore chip and pin or on the app in the pay area)
- With Apple Pay (on the app or instore)
- With Samsung Pay (instore only)
- With Google Pay (instore only)
Does McDonald’s Accept Checks?
Unfortunately, McDonald’s does not take checks.
Does McDonald’s Drive-Thru Accept PayPal?
At McDonald’s drive-thru, the only way to pay for your meal with PayPal is by using the abovementioned apps, Samsung Pay or Google Pay.
Other Restaurants that Accept PayPal
Some other restaurants that allow you to use PayPal include:-
- Papa John’s Pizza (online or using the in-app)
- Chick Fil A (in-store using Google Pay or Samsung Pay)
- Subway (Google Pay, Samsung Pay or online)
- Applebee’s (Google Pay or Samsung Pay)
- Hardee’s (Samsung pay)
Does McDonald’s Accept Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrency?
McDonald’s doesn’t currently accept Bitcoin or any other crypto as it stands.
This might change in the future though as there are already a few shops and other companies accepting cryptocurrency as payment.
Some of these companies include:
- Microsoft
- Home Depot
- Starbucks
- Overstock
Bottom Line
PayPal is an extremely user-friendly way of paying for things, especially online, and it is a bit disappointing that you can’t use it to directly pay for your meal at McDonald’s.
However, we’re really pleased that the app now supports PayPal which it has started doing in the last 12 months or so.
