MasterCard is boosting the role of its Qkr! application in the growing mobile-ordering space by partnering with New York restaurant Streetbird Rotisserie to give customers the ability to order ahead and pay from their phones.

MasterCard has been ramping up Qkr!, with consumers able to use it to order and pay for concessions at the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament in March. Qkr! is also available in sports stadiums, concerts and schools.

“Launching Qkr! in our first restaurant in the U.S. with Marcus Samuelsson was a natural extension of our existing relationship,” said Cheryl Guerin, group executive for global products and solutions at MasterCard, Purchase, NY.

“Marcus was looking for a way to make his food easily accessible; he wanted to provide a way for his customers to get in and out with their food quickly, and have a way to pay that they trust,” she said. “And that’s what Qkr! does.

“We’ll continue to speak with our partners and work with them to bring this technology – and others – to them in a way that best meets their needs.”

Home delivery
MasterCard is partnering with restaurateur and chef Marcus Samuelsson to bring Qkr! to his newest location in the Harlem neighborhood of New York.

The app, which is available for download on Android and iOS devices, promises to provide customers with a faster and more convenient way to order their meal in advance as well as pay right from their phones.

A dedicated pick-up spot has been set up inside the location to help mobile orderers to get in and out quickly.

Streetbird has a dedicated area for mobile order pick-ups

Streetbird Rotisserie plans to extend its use of the app’s capabilities to home delivery.

Ordering up mobile
The app is powered by MasterPass, a digital platform from MasterCard that promises to safely stores payment information in one secure location, enabling it to be used across connected devices.

The number of mobile ordering deployments has quickly grown in the past year.

Last month, Starbucks said it will be testing a variety of delivery options this year with its mobile app following the Pacific Northwest launch of the Mobile Order and Pay feature late last year (see story).

Qkr! was available at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Burger King is testing mobile ordering at locations in Germany (see story).

Splitting the bill
MasterCard has partnered with venues such as restaurants, sports stadiums, schools and theaters to enhance consumers’ ordering experiences through Qkr!

Wagamama in Britain was the first restaurant or retailer to offer to leverage the app to enable customers to split a bill when they are dining with a large party.

Qkr! is currently available at Yankee Stadium, enabling users to order food and beverages from their seat and get notified when it is time to pick them up at the counter. The app has also been used at several concerts.

In Australia, hundreds of schools are using to Qkr! to enable parents to purchase lunches for their children and pay for fundraising initiatives.

“Qkr! with MasterPass was the first ever mobile food and beverage ordering and payments app used at a PGA TOUR event,” Ms. Guerin said. “And we think it was a great success.

“A solid number of fans used Qkr! multiple times over multiple days during the tournament, and we are in conversations with the tour about future deployments at 2015 PGA Tour events,” she said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is senior editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York