Credit Card Use & Fast Food Purchases
More people choosing plastic for fast food purchases…
With extremely long processing times, using a credit card for fast food purchases used to be a hassle. But recent developments have sped up the process and new technologies such as the ‘fast-pass’ and ‘contact-less’ technologies are making purchases even easier at fast food restaurants. In a new survey commissioned by Visa, 82% of respondents said fast food purchases made with plastic are more convenient than dealing with cash; 68% said they’re faster. In addition, 77% said credit cards allow them buy exactly what they want because they’re not limited by the cash they have on hand.
American’s spent approximately $170 billion on fast food in 2007 with an average transaction of $12.65. $63 billion of that was paid with a credit or debit card, compared to $51.3 billion one year ago. The survey by Visa International found that 20% of respondents are using plastic to pay for more than half of their purchases at fast food restaurants. They also reported an increase of 31% in credit card and 32% in debit card usage for fast food transactions over last year. One hundred thousand restaurant transactions were studied as well, showing that customers spent 30% more (on average) than those who paid with cash.
The increase appears to be driven by expanding merchant acceptance and new contactless payment options. The survey also found that consumers would use their cards more often if several factors were in play: faster check-outs, opportunity to earn rewards, more locations accepting plastic, or consumers ability to swipe their own card.
