Apple is slowly but surely growing the list of places where you can pay hands-free with your iPhone and Apple Pay.
The latest addition: Smashburger, which announced that it will begin accepting Apple Pay later this year.
Once it’s live in store, you’ll be able to tap-to-pay just as you would at any other business or retailer that takes Apple. Additionally, Apple Pay will also be integrated with Smashburger’s loyalty program.
Once you’ve paid, your phone will prompt you to join the restaurant’s loyalty program, which lets you earn discounts and credit toward future orders. Apple’s Wallet app will keep tabs on your points as part of the loyalty program.
The entire integration is coming thanks to a partnership with marketing company Punchh, which powers restaurants’ in-store loyalty programs. Sandwich chain Quiznos and Mod Pizza will also be accepting Apple Pay later this year, thanks to Punchh.
Surprisingly, even though Apple Pay has been out for a few years now, the list of national restaurant chains that support it is relatively short. That may be because it’s taken restaurants longer to adopt the NFC technology necessary for Apple Pay than retailers, or simply because there hasn’t been much incentive for them to do so until now.
But by adding loyalty programs into the mix, which can have a big impact on an establishment’s ability to draw in new customers, we might finally start to see more casual chains follow suit.
BY KARISSA BELL
