Why is Burger King Choosing PayPal Over Apple Pay as Its Mobile Payment Provider?

Apple Pay has launched, and everyone is getting on board – well, not everyone. This week PayPal chief product officer Hill Ferguson announced that it has teamed up with Burger King as their official partner for mobile payment service.

Whopper-hungry consumers will be able to use their smartphones to pay thanks to a mobile app collaboration between Burger King, PayPal, and Tillster Inc. “We will be rolling out later this quarter across the United States to all locations,” said Ferguson in a post on the blog PayPal Community. “BK® restaurant guests will be able to securely pay with PayPal by simply launching the app and when they select to pay with PayPal they will be prompted with a four digit pin to pay.”

According to Ferguson, the service will be unique compared to other forms of mobile payment in that it offers Pay After Delivery, a PayPal exclusive service that allows consumers to pay up to 14 days after their purchase. While it could be argued that this feature in particular may be more beneficial for some other more substantial purchases compared to a BK Value Meal, PayPal explains that it’s all about the company’s ability to maintain trust and confidence for both the consumers and the business.

“We want people to have the same level of confidence whether they shop online or in store, which is why we have relationships with both buyers and sellers, enabling shoppers to buy things and pay later, while ensuring that merchants gets paid immediately,” wrote Ferguson. “We take a collaborative approach to payments – building relationships with merchants and other key industry players – which allows us to tap into our vast network to create the best experiences in-store, online or across platforms on mobile. Our open approach to payments allows us to build relationships with businesses to create industry-first experiences for more people faster.”

Burger King choosing another mobile payment provider over the currently trending Apple Pay shouldn’t really come as that big of a surprise to anyone. In the game of fast food franchise thrones, Burger King has a history of quite pointedly doing its own thing. While other franchises started putting a heavier emphasis on their breakfast menus, Burger King doubled down on its standard menu with a “Burgers for Breakfast” promotion (then bought a Canadian breakfast brand to make up the difference). It was doing memorably weird commercials and viral web campaigns before anyone else – then when randomness became commonplace in advertising, the brand shifted its advertising focus toward freshness and crispness. If Burger King has one modus operandi, it’s living up to its new Be Your Way slogan and not doing what everyone else is doing. So if everyone else is partnering with Apple Pay, leave it to BK to take a different route.

Now, with multiple mobile payment options in play, other businesses and observers will be able to see the benefits and drawbacks of each in real time and make their own decisions on which system might fit their own operations best.

[SOURCE: PayPal Community via Eater]