MasterCard Cooks Up M-Payments Restaurant App

MasterCard announced that it has partnered with restaurateur and chef Marcus Samuelsson to bring its Qkr! app to Samuelsson’s new “casual kitchenette” restaurant, Streetbird Rotisserie, the first restaurant location in the U.S. to enable the app. Qkr! is powered by MasterPass, MasterCard’s digital platform that safely stores payment information in one secure location and to be used across connected devices.

Those who dine at Samuelsson’s new ’70s to ’90s hip-hop and street culture-inspired restaurant will get access to the app via Android or iOS. The app aims to offer a “faster and more convenient way” to both order meals in advance and pay right from a smartphone, says MasterCard.

“With Streetbird, I wanted to create something that made good food accessible. So we focused on creating an environment – from the menu to the incorporation of Qkr! with MasterPass – that centered on takeout and delivery,” said Marcus Samuelsson in the MasterCard release. “This is food you can order ahead and pick up on your way home from work.”

Customers of Streetbird Rotisserie will also get a dedicated pick-up spot so they can get in and out quickly, and soon, they will also be able to order delivery through the Qkr! app, says MasterCard.

“We know people are headed to Streetbird with one thing on their mind – good food,” said Cheryl Guerin, group executive of Global Products and Solutions at MasterCard, in the release. “How they pay is simply the means to getting their meal.” She added that Qkr! will deliver an innovative, secure payment option to meet customers’ “need for speed and convenience.”

Through Priceless New York, MasterCard says that consumers also have exclusive access to premiere reservations at Samuelsson’s other popular restaurant, Red Rooster Harlem.