Consumers are now able to scan a unique QR code at checkout and enter their personal PIN code to pay. The technology is being powered by Seamless’ SEQR mobile wallet solution.

“McDonald’s in Sweden are quite far along on our digital journey and Swedes are among the most connected people in the world,” said Kajsa Dahlberg, head of digital engagement at McDonald’s Sweden.

“It was natural for us to explore mobile payments as part of our overall mobile strategy,” she said. “We have worked with Seamless for more than a year and offered mobile payments in a number of our stores. Integrating the service in our mobile app was just the next step for us.”

McDonald’s Sverige
McDonald’s Sweden has had an app since 2011. The app lets consumers browse the menu and nutrition information, locate McDonald’s restaurants in Sweden, get special offers and participate in campaigns, contests and games.

Now, consumers can also make in-store payments directly from the McDonald’s Sverige app using the Seqr wallet. Consumers could already pay with the Seqr app at McDonald’s locations, but now the payment method is integrated into the McDonald’s Sverige app for easier access.

If consumers already have the Seqr app, they can easily access it from within the McDonald’s app. If they have not already downloaded Seqr separately, they will be directed to Apple’s App Store or Google Play to download it for free.

Once they open the Seqr wallet, they can scan a QR code in-store and enter their PIN code to pay.

“Every smartphone has a camera as well as that you can integrate it in many channels such as physical, digital and on screens,” Ms. Dahlberg said. “For us with many stores and many POS in each store, it was important that we did not have to install hardware everywhere, but simple and quickly could try mobile payments to a low cost for our stores.”

To promote the integration, McDonald’s Sweden and Seqr are offering consumers a cheeseburger for 1 SEK, 10 eurocent, when they pay with Seqr.

According to Seqr, it is the only mobile payment solution in Sweden that lets consumers pay in stores and online. McDonald’s is one of the first companies to integrate Seqr into its own app.

International payments
McDonald’s has been expanding its international efforts towards mobile payments for quick some time now.

McDonald’s France tested a mobile payments solution in 2012 and rolled it out nationwide this past November. The solution also included QR codes and PINs but integrated with PayPal (see story).

Additionally, McDonald’s has been partnering with Isis in America to accept payments from the mobile wallet app (see story).

Quick-service restaurants as a whole are moving quickly to figure out the best mobile payments solution. They understand that the use case for them is valuable in that consumers tend to be more comfortable making frequent, small purchases on mobile devices, something that is very familiar to QSRs.

“McDonald’s in Sweden have 435,000 daily guests,” Ms. Dahlberg said. “By enabling mobile payments, we are opening up also for all the customers that prefer to pay using the mobile.

“For the past year working with Seamless and Seqr payment, we have learned that the system is very easy to implement in the stores, quick and easy for the customers to use and offers a lower cost-per-transaction for the stores compared to if a customers is using a debit or credit card,” she said.

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York