This new partnership could be defining for both companies as well as the entire industry.
PayPal has just entered into the very first stages of what may be one of the most defining mobile payments deals in the industry, as it begins its partnership with the largest fast food chain in the world, McDonald’s.
The new smartphone transaction service is now being tested at 30 restaurants in France.
Earlier in 2012, Orlando, Florida franchisees saw demonstrations of a wider PayPal mobile payments program at a McDonald’s conference. Now, a spokeswoman from the fast food chain has confirmed that the PayPal tests in France and the demonstrations at the conference were both an element of a package of new technology features that will be gradually incorporated into the restaurants “within the next 24 months or so.”
If this test proves successful, it will not only be a significant boost for PayPal’s mobile payments position as a whole, but it will also help in its race against Square, a start-up presenting one of its largest competition, as well as other technology companies that are making their way into the market. Each of these competitors is vying to become the leading choice of consumers as they increasingly use their smartphones for accomplishing their day to day tasks, such as purchasing products and services in stores, restaurants, and elsewhere.
PayPal has already signed up more than 15 retailers for its mobile payments program.
Most notably, until now, have been its partnerships with Office Depot and Home Depot, each of which are offering PayPal mobile payments options within their store locations. That said, analysts are saying that by partnering up with a worldwide company the size of McDonald’s, which has over 30,000 locations, it could be a major advantage for PayPal.
This icing on top of PayPal’s cake could prove to be even more important following the deal that Square struck with Starbucks, which has already found enormous success with smartphone purchases in its coffee chain locations. That deal had created quite the sense of urgency at PayPal, but McDonald’s may have been the leap forward in the mobile payments race that the company needed to stay ahead of the game.
