MasterCard has teamed up with Commonwealth Bank and cinema group Hoyts to pilot a mobile payments application that lets movie-goers order food and drinks directly from their seats.
The deal means CBA and Hoyts will be the first companies in the world to try out MasterCard's QkR app when the pilot starts this month, enabling movie-goers at La Premiere cinemas in Sydney who have an iPhone or Android handset to buy food and drink from their seats through their phones.
Movie-goers open the app and then use their phone to either scan, type or - if the handset is NFC-enabled - tap a QR code on their seat table. The food and beverage menu then launches and items can be purchased using the digital wallet the cardholder pre-registers with their debit or credit card details the first time they use QkR.
Once the purchase is confirmed, the order and the seat location are sent to Hoyts staff and the food then delivered to the moviegoer's seat.
No cardholder data is stored on the phone, and QkR can be configured to request the number at time of purchase.
Matt Barr, head, market development and innovation, MasterCard Australia, says: "We're focused on smart ways to simplify and improve the consumer experience. QkR has many possible uses, and this pilot is just one great example of leveraging different technologies in a new way to create an easy and convenient ordering experience."
The QkR pilot comes soon after CBA enlisted MasterCard for its recently launched Kaching mobile phone application and case, capable of conducting NFC-based, e-mail P2P, and Facebook payments from a single handheld device.
Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, executive GM, business products and development, CBA, says: "We will be continuing to explore new developments, including working closely with our partners and business clients, so we can continue to move the banking and payments market forward in Australia and support the evolving needs of our customers."