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Apple Pay Coming to Starbucks, KFC, Chili's

Cupertino aims to help quick-service restaurants that "have a need for fast payments."

By Stephanie Mlot
October 9, 2015
Apple Pay

Apple Pay is set to speed up transactions at several popular restaurant chains later this year.

Speaking at the Code/Mobile conference in California, Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay, said the mobile payment system will launch soon in some Starbucks locations before expanding nationwide next year. It's also coming to KFC and Chili's, according to The New York Times.

Cupertino aims to help quick-service restaurants that "have a need for fast payments," Bailey said, as reported by the Times.

An Apple Pay pilot will be in a number of Starbucks stores by year's end, Bailey said, and "more broadly" throughout 2016 in about 7,500 company-owned Starbucks stores.

Starbucks has been running a limited Apple Pay service for nine months: Users can reload loyalty cards through the official Starbucks app, but can't pay for coffee and a muffin with Apple Pay.

"We will begin testing in a number of stores before the end of the year and then roll out more broadly in 2016 reaching all 7,500 company-owned stores," a Starbucks spokeswoman told PCMag. "We have been accepting Apple Pay in the U.K. over the past few months and it has been received well by customers."

Meanwhile, this will be first mobile payment system Chili's has adopted. "Chili's is focused on bringing guests the most innovative technology, and Apple Pay is transforming mobile payments with an easy, secure and private way to pay," the company told the Times.

The restaurant chain confirmed the news to PCMag, adding that it will begin the rollout in spring 2016 at its 930-plus company-owned Chili's locations nationwide.

KFC did not respond to PCMag's request for comment.

Apple Pay debuted a year ago alongside iOS 8.1, with launch partners McDonald's, Whole Foods, Panera, Sephora, Disney theme parks, and, of course, Apple Stores. The mobile wallet works on the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, and the Apple Watch, turning your handset or wearable into a digital billfold.

It has since added Best Buy, while August marked the return of Rite Aid, which earlier ditched Apple Pay because of its allegiance to the Merchant Customer Exchange's CurrentC solution.

Still, a number of retailers aren't so keen on the service. In June, Reuters reported that less than a quarter of the top 100 U.S. retail companies support Apple Pay; about two-thirds said they had no plans to join this year.

Bailey, however, touted a strong adoption rate, announcing at this week's conference that Apple has seen "a sea change in acceptance at the merchant level." More businesses—small, medium, and large—are adopting the necessary technology to begin accepting mobile payments, she said.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 10:45 a.m. Eastern with comment from Starbucks, and again at 1:25 p.m. with comment from Chili's.

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About Stephanie Mlot

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Stephanie Mlot

B.A. in Journalism & Public Relations with minor in Communications Media from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP)

Reporter at The Frederick News-Post (2008-2012)

Reporter for PCMag and Geek.com (RIP) (2012-present)

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