A few months ago I received an email from Softcard announcing that it would now be accepted at McDonald's drive-thrus nationwide. I was skeptical and hopeful simultaneously for this development: as a father who frequents the fast food chain often with the little one in the back, being able to continue my phone paying endeavors without unpacking the child seemed like an awesome possibility. However, the questions on how it would work, worker knowledge and expertise and the perceived growing pains in the system left me leery.

A few months on, here's what I have to report. There are several McDonald's near me, but two specifically that I would consider our 'locals'. The one that I feel produces the better product (no, I do not think all McDonald's are created equal) was my first stop in testing out Softcard in the drive-thru as I figured they would be the first to implement this properly.

At this location I placed my order during off-peak hours (I always try to do my NFC payment experiments during times I feel are going to inconvenience people the least; fewer angry co-customers and more receptive workers) and drove up to the payment window. Here's where it gets a bit awkward. I asked if I could use my phone to tap to pay, and the young worker looked around and said, "I think so..." So, having Softcard already opened and PIN entered, I reached my phone out the window expecting him to pull out a small NFC terminal or similar. He looked at me strangely and took my phone from me wearing his plastic gloves. I am not OK with this. He then proceeds to hold my phone near the credit card swipe terminal affixed to the wall! Obviously, taking phone payments at this drive-thru was an afterthought at this location, and not something they ever thought anyone would use. After coaching the young worker on how to hold the phone to pay, and then reminding him to hit the credit button first, the transaction was processed, phone and receipt handed back, and I felt dirty. It took years for me to be comfortable with my wife handling my phone,a complete stranger was not a welcome experience.

Soured but resolute, a few days later I hit up my other local McDonald's drive-thru solely with the intentions of simply asking the worker at the first window if I could pay with my phone. Here, I was greeted by a super cheerful and seemingly knowledgeable worker who was excited to show how their terminal can be picked up and handed out the window to meet my phone. Sweet! It was a full size terminal that was the same they used inside, so it was a tad clunky, but the advantages of seeing your bill on the screen before you pay and knowing that I'm using a super reliable terminal make the clunkiness worthwhile.

At this second location I've now used my phone to pay at the drive-thru four times without awkwardness or issue (save that one time the worker did not know where the terminal was (?) and I then forgot to remind her to hit the credit button first - remember: if you do not see your total on the screen, it will not work). Additionally, I've now had success using both Softcard and Google Wallet to complete payments.

Overall, I can see paying with your phone at a drive thru as something that will catch on, but it's definitely in its infancy. With more time and better equipment (such as a perma-mounted weatherproof NFC terminal) I think that tap to pay from your car will gain serious traction.