Jared Fogle, better known as the Subway Guy, became a household name, and a spokesperson for the sandwich chain, in the early 2000s, after losing a substantial amount of weight by eating low-fat, condiment-free, Subway sandwiches in addition to adopting a healthier lifestyle. At the time, Fogle paid for his $5 footlong the old fashioned way, with cash or a debit card. Now, there’s an app for that.
Subway has made it even easier than ever to “eat fresh” by expanding its mobile payment partnership with Softcard (formerly known as Isis Wallet), allowing patrons at all of its more than 26,000 nationwide locations to pay with their mobile devices. Subway successfully ran a pilot program of the mobile payment program earlier this year in Salt Lake City.
Created by mobile tech giants ATandT Mobility, T-Mobile USA Inc. and Verizon Wireless, Softcard’s near field communication, or NFC technology, allows tech-savvy users to pay for their purchases and redeem goodies like loyalty points all with a simple app.
The quick-service restaurant chain will be giving away exclusive offers via the new platform as part of the partnership deal. One includes $1 cash back on every purchase over $1 to patrons using their American Express Serve card via the Softcard platform. Subway also plans on integrating their own rewards program into the Softcard platform over the next few months.
Subway is just one of many restaurants and retailers taking advantage of the increasing demand for mobile payments options, especially among the generation known as Millennials. Other quick-service restaurant chains such as Starbucks, Chipotle, and Dunkin’ Donuts have also adopted this technology, driven by the fact that a whopping 40% of young adults would prefer to pay via their smartphones and mobile devices, according to a report from the National Restaurant Association.
In fact, the advent of smart phones and Cloud technology has changed the way that retail and restaurant industries interact with their customers, as mobile point-of-sale (POS) systems have significantly expedited business operations and transactions.
Cloud-based POS systems allow access to valuable sales data at all times, from any location where internet access is available, meaning that managers do not have physically be onsite or logged into the company network to review this information. Additionally, these systems make tasks such as email capture or customer preferences easier to accomplish. This makes for a more efficient, and therefore more pleasant, customer experience, increasing the chance the customer will return.
The saying “cash is king” may not be applicable anymore in today’s modern era, as mobile payment options are a strong contender for the throne.