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For quick service restaurants (QSRs), time is money and the customer experience is everything. Consumers demand speed, personalization, and security, and long lines and impersonal service no longer cut it. When customers are in a rush, fast food needs to feel fast.

To meet these expectations, businesses are turning to new QSR technologies that streamline the experience. Biometric verification tools, such as facial recognition, palm vein scanning, and fingerprint ID, are stepping up to the counter to meet this demand. By enabling faster, more personalized interactions, this new technology helps eliminate friction and deliver service at the pace today's customers expect.

QSRs must embrace biometric innovation

Cards and mobile wallets are taking convenience to a new level, and it shows. However, faster payment also makes it easier to introduce fraud. Global digital payment volumes are expected to rise to 457.8 trillion by 2032, while businesses worldwide already lost $33.8 billion in 2023 alone. For QSRs, there's a need to offer secure payment experiences without adding unnecessary delays to the checkout experience.

New technologies that improve security and the customer experience can help. Research suggests that 83% of Gen Z and 87% of millennials feel comfortable using biometric authentication. These tech-native, convenience-driven consumers represent the next generation — and QSRs must be ready to meet their expectations.

Biometric authentication helps QSRs tackle three core challenges: speeding up transactions, removing friction from loyalty and personalization, and processing secure payments. The upside is significant. Pilot programs have already trimmed checkout times by up to 90 seconds and lifted average ticket sizes by 4%.

What biometrics at QSRs looks like in practice

Consider this scenario: a customer walks up to a self-service kiosk at a QSR and facial recognition instantly verifies their identity. No loyalty card, no log-in, no friction. The experience is immediately personalized, as previous orders, favorite items, and loyalty details appear automatically on-screen. Personalized suggestions offer targeted promotions or new items. The customer selects the items they want, pays with a quick palm scan, and they are on their way out the door with food in seconds.

Biometrics is also poised to transform the drive-through experience. At locations known for long lines, facial recognition or systems that match vehicles to biometric profiles can identify returning guests the moment they pull in. This enables automatic order recall, personalized upsells, and seamless payment processing without the need to pull out a wallet or phone.

By reducing order and payment time, biometrics can significantly improve speed, accuracy, and throughput in one of the QSR’s most high-volume, high-impact sales channels. In fact, a new study on “spendception” found that easy digital payments lower the psychological resistance to spending by making transactions feel more invisible and effortless. This reduces the “pain of paying,” boosting purchase behavior. Biometric payments may amplify the effect by removing even more friction—helping businesses increase conversions and average order values.

QSRs are already rolling out:

• Facial recognition and palm vein scanning at registers and kiosks to allow for instant ID and more secure payments
• Loyalty recognition without requiring apps, physical cards, or account credentials
• Tailored prompts and order recall based on past behavior
• Biometric-based payment options that bypass payment cards and devices entirely
• Facial recognition at the drive-through to identify customers as they approach

How biometrics deliver real value

For QSRs, speeding up the checkout process has a ripple effect throughout both the customer experience and operational efficiency. Shorter wait times mean more throughput and happier guests. At the same time, when employees aren't spending time processing complex payments, they can spend time giving guests personalized attention or quickly resolving issues.

Biometrics combine speed and loyalty in a way that perfectly suits the QSR environment. Customers are recognized instantly, loyalty rewards are applied without extra effort, and favorites that really resonate are suggested each visit. When done well, the result is faster orders, higher check values, and a personalized experience from the second customers enter the restaurant.

Customers are already on board with QSR technology

QSR operations may be worried about consumer concerns on biometrics, but the data shows growing trust and comfort. Most consumers see biometrics as more secure than passwords, and over half are fine using them in public settings. Almost 90% of U.S. adults already use digital payments in some form, so the leap to biometric-driven service can be less difficult than it would have been five to 10 years ago.

For younger guests, biometrics often feels second nature. Gen Z and millennials already unlock their phones, validate mobile purchases, and access apps using biometrics, often on a daily or weekly basis. More broadly, consumers are being introduced to biometrics in situations from travel to banking, which is increasing their familiarity and reducing anxiety. Recognizing consumers at a QSR kiosk just feels like a continuation of their everyday habits, along with the bonus of faster, more relevant service.

Personalization meets practicality with Verifone

Verifone's biometric solutions support both facial and palm recognition, built with privacy-first design and seamless integration in mind. They work within existing POS and loyalty systems, support multiple payment methods, and are designed to fit right into the operational flow without disruption.

Whether a brand is rolling out across a few franchise locations or scaling nationwide, Verifone's modular design and open APIs make it easy to test and expand. No rip-and-replace needed. Just straightforward deployment that builds on what QSRs already have in place, while simplifying ongoing operations and management.

It's time for QSR biometrics

Biometric technology is already driving improvements in both customer experience and payment security. As expectations evolve and competition intensifies, the QSRs that act now will have a distinct competitive advantage. Guests want to be recognized, remembered, and rewarded in real-time. Biometrics makes that not only possible, but simple. And when you get that right, they'll keep coming back for more.

Ready to transform your guest experience with cutting-edge biometric personalization? Learn more about how Verifone's biometric solutions can help you speed up service, boost security, and delight your customers.