McDonald's tests cash-accepting self-order kiosks; will retrofits be needed?

McDonald's, which has pioneered the use of self-order kiosks, is testing kiosks that also accept cash, the company told Kiosk Marketplace via email. Cash users can place orders on the existing machines, but they still need to pay at the cash register, and cannot skip the line like card payers.

«I can confirm we are testing cash kiosks at a small handful of U.S. restaurants,» the company said in a statement emailed to Kiosk Marketplace. The spokesperson offered no additional details.

About 6.5% – or 8.4 million – U.S. households have no bank account or credit or debit card, preventing them from paying at the kiosks, according to a Bloomberg report.

The kiosks became a focus of McDonald's recently departed Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook after being introduced in 2015. Easterbrook said in July that 40% of in-store customers used one in major European markets and Australia, a Bloomberg report noted. Restaurant owners have paid as much as $750,000 for the kiosks and other store improvements, according to the Bloomberg report.

John Gordon, principal at restaurant adviser Pacific Management Consulting Group.,told Bloomberg that franchisees could have to pay for retrofits, and called the inability to accept cash an oversight for the company. Gordon estimated 30% of U.S. fast-food customers use cash, as do 40% to 60% of diners worldwide.

Cashless restaurants have been criticized for discriminating against low-income consumers.

The Sweetgreen salad chain and Amazon Go grocery markets reversed their cashless policies earlier this year, according to the Bloomberg report.

Source: Kiosk Marketplace