Android Pay could be hitting McDonald’s stores this Wednesday
No need for ninety-nine cents
Itching to bag a Big Mac, but left your wallet behind? Fear not: Android Pay could be hitting McDonald’s stores as early as this Wednesday.
That is, at least, according to leaked internal documents referring to the US.
McDonald’s Mobile Money Madness
For whatever reason, Wednesday is Google’s preferred day for patching updates to Android devices, so, if the titillating tip-offs are to be believed, it could well be the case that Wednesday will see wireless wallets waved in exchange for a side of fries.
Why McDonald’s? The global fast-food chain has form when it comes to implementing new tech before others – and given that it has already rolled out Apple Pay support, it makes sense to complete the package with Android’s offering.
Android Pay will use NFC to digitise the dollar and process the pound, so it should work just about anywhere that you can use contactless cards.
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What’s more, Google should be rolling out the new payment technology to historic handsets (provided they have the requisite security features, which the Californian search giant reckons 7 out of 10 handsets will), meaning the replacement for Wallet should mean money for the masses.
Whether Wednesday will see Android’s new payment system rolled out across the globe or just in the US remains to be seen, but given that we’ve heard nothing of any expected delivery date since Google unveiled its plans for payment prowess at its I/O developer conference in May, it might be too soon to hope for worldwide wireless wallets.
Still, with Apple Pay already widely implemented in the UK, and Samsung’s rival on the horizon, Android’s architects might not want to hang around.
Chris Rowlands
Freelance contributor 
