You can use Apple Pay on an Apple Watch or iPhone at all McDonald’s locations in the United States.
There are no fees for using Apple Pay at McDonald’s — when ordering ahead or in the store itself. Charges are the same as if you were to hand the card itself to the cashier, so if you’re traveling abroad, you may still be charged an international transaction fee. These charges (if applicable) are applied by the card issuer and not Apple, so if you don’t receive them usually, don’t expect to with Apple Pay.
Like Apple Pay at Taco Bell, you’ll continue to earn all of the same rewards as you would with your physical card while shopping with Apple Pay at McDonald’s. For example, if you’re an Chase Sapphire customer earning 1% cashback rewards on food purchases, you’ll still be eligible for these when you pay through Apple Pay. But the card you use will need to be one that the retailer accepts in physical form.
McDonald’s also accepts rival payment services Google Pay and Samsung Pay. These work much the same as Apple Pay. You’ll need to use a card that Aldi takes while using them, and neither add their own transaction fees for the convenience of leaving your wallet at home, nor should they impact your ability to earn rewards from the card issuer for qualifying purchases, but always check with them first if you’re unsure.
How to Use Apple Pay at McDonald’s
You can use Apple Pay on an Apple Watch or iPhone at McDonald’s including in the drive-thru, and in the mobile application when ordering ahead for curbside or in-store pickup. The process is the same as using it in any other retailer’s physical location. Just let the cashier know you want to pay with Apple Pay, then follow the usual steps to fire up the card on your Apple Watch or iPhone and pay for your order.
Once you’ve added a card to Apple Wallet, which you should do before you arrive at McDonald’s, double-press the Power button on the side of your iPhone or Apple Watch to start the payment process and select a card to pay with. You’ll then need to use Face ID, or enter your passcode, to authenticate yourself (on an iPhone), then hold the device near the card reader until you hear a beep and feel your device vibrate.
A confirmation notification will then appear on the screen of your device, letting you know that the payment went through with the amount of the transaction. This will be stored in the Wallet application, so you can reference it at a later date, should you need to. The transaction will also appear on your bank statement and mobile banking services, the same way it would if you paid using the physical version of the card.
