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McDonald’s Finds a Flaw in Ordering Kiosks: No Cash Accepted
- Franchisees may have to pay to replace or retrofit machines
- Owners are already grumbling about high cost of renovations
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McDonald’s Corp. has pitched self-ordering kiosks as a key part of its plans to boost sales by improving technology and renovating restaurants. But it turns out the kiosks aren’t much use for a significant slice of McDonald’s customers: cash payers.
The Big Mac seller is leaning hard into digital ordering and technology improvements to attract on-the-go customers, but a recent test shows the kiosks may need to be replaced or retrofitted to accommodate cash transactions. About 6.5% -- or 8.4 million -- of U.S. households don’t have a bank account or a debit or credit card, preventing them from paying at McDonald’s kiosks that are in about 9,000 domestic locations.