McDonald's is introducing new digital kiosks that can accept cash and give change, a move that could pave the way for the fast-food giant to do away with human cashiers.
The world's largest burger chain installed self-ordering screens in most of its locations in 2020 that accepted credit card payments, but those kiosks still required customers paying with cash to complete their purchases at the counter.
According to Bloomberg, which first reported the news, the new cash kiosks have been installed in a few restaurants so far, but Big Mac lovers will now be able to bypass that process.
“These changes allow franchisees to meet growing customer demand for digital options while improving speed and accuracy,” a McDonald's spokesperson told The Washington Post on Wednesday.
Screens behind the counter in McDonald's restaurants typically display the entire menu, but the company said they will now highlight specific menu items and encourage customers to order from self-service kiosks or the McDonald's app.
The cash kiosks are optional for McDonald's franchisees, who own and manage about 95% of the company's roughly 14,300 restaurants in the United States.
McDonald's USA told The Post that so far, fewer than 2% of those franchisees have opted in to use the new kiosks and screens.
The company, which has about 2 million employees, said it has no plans for a wider rollout.
A McDonald's spokesman insisted the introduction of the new screens would not result in any job cuts.
Instead, cashiers will be redeployed to other roles, such as delivering food to customers who order online and leading improvements to the “guest experience.”
But concerns remain that the continued push for automation could make cashier roles unnecessary in the future, especially after California raised its minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 an hour.
Taco Bell and Panera use similar self-order screens in their stores.
Customers have welcomed these new options, which can reduce wait times and offer discounts and other perks to frequent app customers.
McDonald's benefits because mobile app customers are more loyal to the company and tend to buy add-ons like fries when they order.
Orders made through its app, self-order screens and delivery service accounted for more than 40% of McDonald's sales in major markets in the third quarter of last year, the company said.
“Digital is going to continue to grow,” McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski told analysts in July. “More and more customers are going to be using our digital platforms.”
