Dive Brief:

• McDonald's partnered with Adyen NV, a Dutch tech company that processes mobile app payments for the likes of Deliveroo, Domino’s Pizza, Dunkin' and others, and plans to roll out the platform in the U.K. during the first quarter, according to Bloomberg. 
• The partnership is expected to spread internationally in the future. 
• "With Adyen's scalable platform, McDonald's will be able to continue to provide customers a seamless experience through a variety of payment methods that align with the unique needs of our markets," Leandro Balbinot, SVP of global technology and digital at McDonald's said in a press release. 

Dive Insight:

With delivery becoming a $4 billion business for the global fast food chain, it makes sense that McDonald's would further its tech partnerships with a company focused on mobile payments. While there is no indication of whether Adyen's technology will be used in the U.S., it backs the company's ongoing strategy to marry more technology with store operations and the customer experience around the world. ​

The chain has done a lot of testing abroad, especially in the U.K. The company partnered with Ingenico Group in 2018 to help with cashless transactions over the next five years in the U.K. and Ireland. It also rolled out a pickup-only location as well as a ghost kitchen earlier this year in London.

In general, international locations are further along in the company's tech strategy with 15,000 locations globally already using self-order kiosks. Its U.K. and European markets also completed its remodel program several years ago while U.S. franchisees are still working through the program. 

Despite the lag between the markets, the company has invested quite a bit in technology in the U.S. Its acquisition of Dynamic Yield has led to AI technology within the drive-thru in the U.S. and Australia. The company also invested $3.7 million in mobile app developer Plexure, gaining access to the technology, which includes back-end and front-end features, customer functionality and targeting. This year it also acquired Apprente, a conversational AI tech company and established a tech team McD Tech Labs in Silicon Valley to help meet the company's future business needs and support deployment.