Whataburger Offers Customers Quick and Convenient Payments with MasterCard PayPass

Contactless payments continue to gain traction as consumers move away from cash towards faster and more flexible payment options
Purchase, NY.- MasterCard Worldwide announced today that Texas-based quick service restaurant chain, Whataburger, will accept MasterCard® PayPass™ contactless payments at more than 500 locations across southern United States. Customers will be able to use their MasterCard PayPass card or device to simply Tap & Go™ to pay for menu items at the counter and at the drive-thru, enabling them to make purchases quickly and conveniently.
Whataburger, recognized for its fresh, made-to-order burgers and familial customer service, operates locations in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. These Whataburger locations will be equipped to accept MasterCard PayPass by September 2009.

“For our regular hometown customers and the frequent road-trippers that come through our doors, MasterCard PayPass provides a faster and more convenient way to pay for their meals,” said Karen Bird, chief information officer, Whataburger. “We continually look for innovative ways to enhance our customers’ dining experience, whether by expanding our menu choices, or, in this case, providing greater flexibility at the point of sale.”

To enable PayPass acceptance, Whataburger restaurants are being deployed with Vivotech 4500M and DTc readers, integrated devices designed to accept PayPass contactless payments, as well as traditional, magnetic stripe payment cards at the counter and at the drive-thru. Customers simply tap their PayPass-enabled MasterCard card or device on the reader to make a purchase, eliminating the need to hand their card over to a cashier or fumble for cash. MasterCard PayPass also does not require customers to sign receipts for purchases under $25, further speeding up the transaction.

“Busy, quick-service restaurants like Whataburger are the ideal environment for MasterCard PayPass, because the benefit of faster transactions at the point of sale translates directly to busy customers who are often on the go,” said Cathleen Conforti, senior vice president, Global PayPass, MasterCard Worldwide. “By accepting MasterCard PayPass, Whataburger is taking an innovative step to enhance customer service by increasing throughput at the register and in the drive-thru.”

Growing usage and acceptance of contactless payments, including in small-ticket environments that are typically dominated by cash, reflect the growing consumer preference for electronic payments over cash for everyday purchases. According to MasterCard research, about 94 percent of PayPass-using respondents to a 2008 MasterCard PayPass Benchmark Study were satisfied with their experience, and 77 percent of consumers that have a PayPass-enabled card use it as their primary form of payment.