(3 of 3)
Parents who want their lunch money to go for food--as opposed to video games, cigarettes or alcohol--are also finding RFID wands a useful tool. In Boise, McDonald's manager Dick Darmody says one of his first customers for RFID wands was a woman with three sons--12, 14 and 16. "She was always giving her sons money for lunch, and they were always losing it," he says. "She liked the idea that they could use the wand only at McDonald's." Darmody also sees the wands as a tool to build customer loyalty--say, by offering customers a free dessert or a $5 credit when they spend $20. FreedomPay and 2Scoot do not sell their information, but they do tell retailers whether you have a penchant for Big Macs over cheeseburgers, or chocolate shakes over vanilla.
McDonald's hopes to accept RFID wands nationwide as early as next year. Canteen has decided to convert all its vending machines after watching sales shoot up more than 40% in its North Carolina test. IBM technology guru Michael Karasick notes that while "the hype level for m-commerce has gone way down," the the technology still promises to change retailing "profoundly."
--With reporting by Paul Cuadros/Chapel Hill, Judy Grigg Hansen/Boise and Maggie Sieger/Chicago