From fast food purchases to public transit fares, payment cards are gaining ground as consumers' currency of choice for more everyday payments less than $25 due to the efficiency, ease of use, and speed they provide. In fact, one in five survey respondents are using cards to pay for more than half of their purchases at QSRs. Paying with plastic alleviates many of the potential hassles associated with cash. The majority of survey respondents agreed that:

Payment cards allow them to track spending (84 percent).
Funds are always accessible with cards, so it's not necessary to plan ahead to get cash (82 percent).
When using a payment card at a QSR, they can get exactly what they need because they're not limited to the cash on hand (77 percent).
Electronic payment can help to streamline the purchase process for businesses and their customers. Visa's No Signature Required program, which eliminates the signature requirement for qualifying transactions less than $25 across 17 merchant categories, can also help to expedite purchases. And, by paying with a credit or debit card, consumers can avoid some of the inconveniences associated with cash cited by survey respondents:

Being stuck in a long line (62 percent).
Digging in their wallet or pocket for cash and coins (48 percent).
Dropping money on the ground (28 percent).
Having to scale back their order because they were short on cash (15 percent).
Purchasing Preferences of QSR Customers

While payment card purchases at QSRs are already on the rise, survey respondents expressed a willingness to use their cards more often and said they would make additional purchases with their cards if:

They could get through lines faster (30 percent).
They had the opportunity to earn rewards or free meals (28 percent).
More locations accepted payment cards (27 percent).
They could swipe their own card (27 percent).
"Visa is focused on driving acceptance in areas that most interest our cardholders, such as quick service restaurants, by delivering tailored solutions," said Niki Manby, senior vice president of product innovation at Visa USA. "Our No Signature Required program delivers value to merchants in this category where speed of service is mission-critical. We are committed to enabling a faster and more convenient purchase process for QSR customers."

The QSR segment represents more than $160 billion in spending, with more than 80 percent of transactions conducted in cash. Increasingly, customers are reaching for debit or credit cards instead of cash when making these purchases. In the twelve months ending March 31, 2007, the number of Visa card transactions at quick service restaurants increased 31 percent. Debit card usage at quick service restaurants during the same period grew 32 percent over the previous year.

The Fastest Way to a Free Meal

To continue driving awareness and usage in this segment, Visa has partnered with BURGER KING® on The Fastest Way to a Free Meal program. From June 1 through August 31, 2007, BURGER KING® customers can earn a free meal by using their Visa credit or check card for purchases at more than 7,500 participating U.S. BURGER KING® restaurants. For every 10 purchases, Visa will issue a credit on a future card statement for the amount of the 10th purchase (up to a $7.00 maximum value).

The Visa Quick Service Restaurants Survey was implemented by Opinion Research Corporation May 17-21, 2007. The survey is based on telephone interviews conducted among a national probability sample of 1,583 adults who have credit or debit cards. The margin of error for this sample is +/-3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.