You can have it your way at Burger King, but can you pay your way with Apple Pay?
Burger King is one of the most well-known fast-food chains in the country, and they are known for their burgers and low prices.
Do they sell enough Whoppers to support a POS system that takes Apple Pay at all locations?
Does Burger King Take Apple Pay?
Burger King does not currently take Apple Pay at all locations.
You can place orders at Burger King by going into the store, going through the drive-thru, or placing an order via the Burger King app.
When Burger King first launched its app, it initially offered Apply Pay through the app, but it stopped offering Apple Pay via the app.
The chain has never offered Apple Pay when paying in-store or through the drive-thru.
You also can’t pay at Burger King using cryptocurrency or any other form of mobile wallet payment.
Burger King does accept the following forms of payment:
- PayPal (via the app)
- Venmo (via the app)
- Debit card
- Credit card
- Cash
- BK gift cards
While you can’t pay with Apple Pay, you can always use your mobile wallet to withdraw cash from the nearest ATM that accepts NFC transactions.
You may also order Burger King through delivery apps that take Apple Pay, such as GrubHub, if available in your area.
Quick Sidenote: While most resources online state that Burger King does not accept Apple Pay, a quick phone call to some of my local Burger Kings informed me that some locations do accept Apple Pay. Call your local Burger King to learn more.
Burger King Gift Cards
If you know someone who absolutely loves Burger King, you can gift them with Burger King gift cards that you know they can use at every Burger King location across the country.
Burger King gift cards can only be used at BK locations in the United States and Guam.
You can buy gift cards at Burger King stores, via the Burger King app, and on Burger King’s website.
Gift cards cannot be exchanged for cash.
If you do want to redeem your gift card for cash, you can sell it through various platforms online for a lower amount than the value of the gift card.
Burger King And PayPal
The main reason that you can’t use Apple Pay at Burger King locations is that the fast-food chain signed an agreement with PayPal in 2014.
Since PayPal and Apple Pay are in direct competition with each other, it was a Sophie’s Choice type of situation for Burger King.
They went with the popular PayPal thanks to how easy it would be to integrate into their current system.
Burger King was clearly unaware of how popular Apple Pay would become.
Restaurants That Accept PayPal Directly
You can’t use PayPal directly, but you can use it in the Burger King app.
Many chain restaurants allow you to make PayPal payments directly:
- Applebee’s
- Buffalo Wild Wings
- Chick-fil-A
- Chili’s Bar and Grill
- Dunkin Donuts
- Hardee’s
- Firehouse Subs
- Little Caesar’s
- Jimmy John’s
- McDonald’s
- Outback Steakhouse
- Panera Bread
To pay using PayPal directly, you will use the PayPal app on your smartphone.
What Is Apple Pay?
Apple Pay is a mobile wallet that stores the payment information from your debit card or credit card in an easily accessible app on your smartphone.
To add a card to your mobile wallet, you will open your mobile wallet and add the desired card details with a picture or manually and complete any verification steps required by your financial institution.
Once added to your mobile wallet, the mobile wallet communicates with compatible POS systems using NFC (near field communication) payment technology.
NFC technology allows for wireless communication between two devices when they come within very close contact with each other.
Once your phone establishes a connection with the credit card terminal, you will complete the payment using the credit card terminal.
In some situations, the process allows you to make a completely contactless payment. It also comes in very handy when you happen to leave your card at home.
Most importantly, since the process doesn’t transfer information directly but rather encrypted information, it keeps all data safe, even in the case of a security breach.
Apple Pay is one of the most popular mobile wallets available and comes ready on all modern Apple smartphones, but multiple other mobile wallets also use NFC technology.
Alternative mobile wallets include:
- Samsung Pay
- Google Pay
- Amazon Pay
POS systems that can accept one POS system can accept them all.
Restaurants That Do Take Apple Pay
If you don’t have your card, you may only have the option of Apple Pay.
Chain restaurants that do accept Apple Pay include:
- Au Bon Pain
- Baskin-Robbins
- Chick-fil-A
- Dunkin’ Donuts
- El Pollo Loco
- Firehouse Subs
- Fuddruckers
- Jamba Juice
- Jersey Mike’s Subs
- Johnny Rockets
- Luby’s
- McDonald’s
- Panera Bread
- Peet’s Coffee
- Rubio’s
- Subway
- White Castle
Burger King Locations
Burger King is headquartered in Florida, and it has locations in all 50 states.
The states with the most BK locations are California (583), Florida (561), and Texas (531), due in large part to the sizes of those three states.
Wyoming (18), Alaska (8), and Vermont (7) have the fewest number of locations of all 50 states.
However, the majority of growth (roughly 60%) appears to be taking place outside of the United States.
In 2018, Burger King opened a large number of stores in the following international locations:
- China: 140
- Russia: 120
- Brazil: 100
- France: 90
- India: 60
If these stores succeed, Burger King may switch its business model to emphasize international sales in the future.
The BK Franchise Business Model
Burger King operates using a franchise model.
Essentially, this means that individuals can open up their own Burger King store and sell Burger King products and take advantage of Burger King marketing.
To open a Burger King franchise, it costs roughly $300,000 with an additional $50,000 going to the parent company, which is relatively inexpensive as far as franchises go.
Once up and running, the parent company receives a 4.5% royalty fee every month, instead of the typical 6% royalty fee.
After these costs, the franchise owner retains all profits.
Conclusion
Burger King is a favorite fast-food option for many people looking for a quick meal or craving a Whopper.
While it doesn’t accept Apple Pay at all locations, there are numerous ways to pay, and you can even pay with Apple Pay in many updated locations.
Burger King remains profitable even if it hasn’t necessarily managed to generate the same number of sales as some of its competitors.
Still, updated POS systems and new menu options keep BK executives positive about the future of the company.
