McDonald's speeds up use of quick cash card

McDonald's plans to allow all U.S. stores to use a new cash cardthat customers can wave in front of a machine to make payments in amatter of seconds.

The world's largest restaurant chain will offer MasterCardInternational's Pay Pass service in more than 13,600 U.S. storesafter introducing it in about 7,500, said Cathleen Conforti,MasterCard's global Pay Pass product manager. The service uses radiofrequencies to allow customers to pay for transactions simply bytapping or waving the card near a McDonald's checkout counter.

The new technology cuts wait times 12 to 18 seconds, Confortisaid. McDonald's is stepping up use of the technology as it has beenadopted by competitor Yum Brands, owner of the Pizza Hut and KFCchains, as well as retailers such as 7-Eleven, CVS and some NationalFootball League stadiums.

"We have actually gotten so much more interest from both theissuers' banks and the merchant side that we are going to be in manymore markets than we expected to be in by the fourth quarter,"Conforti said. "They find that they get a lot more activity, a lotmore revenue, because they've got more customers that they can get inand out faster."

McDonald's began testing Pay Pass last August in New York andDallas. The average total weekly amount spent by consumers using thenew cards increased 28 percent, Conforti said.

Shares of Oak Brook-based McDonald's fell 42 cents to $31.20.Before Thursday, they had dropped 1.4 percent this year.

Second-quarter sales at McDonald's stores open at least 13 monthsrose 2.8 percent, the slowest in two years. The company has had morethan two years of sales gains by expanding beyond burgers and fries,adding a $2.99 fruit-and-walnut salad to spur U.S. growth.