By Felicity Ussher, 17 August 1998 18:07
NEWS McDonald's is to install smartcard terminals in all its German restaurants, enabling customers to pay for fast food with electronic cash. Hewlett-Packard's VeriFone division will supply McDonald's with smartcard readers and payment systems. The loading terminals will primarily be financed by Germany's Sparkassen bank, which has been piloting the ecash scheme in Munich. A spokeswoman for McDonald's said: "Customers will be able to load up to 400 marks onto the GeldKarte, direct from their bank accounts." The GeldKarte, issued by Sparkassen Bank, is already used as a credit/debit card for some retail outlets and public transport systems in Germany. A spokeswoman for VeriFone said: "The terminals will look just like ATMs (automated teller machines). They will also provide marketing information on McDonald's products." It will take a year for McDonald's 870 German fast food centres to install the smartcard terminals. Agnete Samdahl, supervisor of McDonald's European Communications, said: "There are no plans that I am aware of to expand the scheme to other European countries." However, the Verifone spokeswoman told Silicon News that from November, VeriFone will be looking to enter the US market.
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