Buffalo Wild Wings does accept contactless payment
via your phone at all locations. Contactless payment is officially supported via two methods:
The first being by registering your mobile phone number when you place your order; once ready, you will receive a text message with a link to your bill, which you can pay electronically.
The second method is scanning a QR code on your physical bill, which directs you to an online payment option.
So the big question becomes, what payment methods can you use, and does this include Apple Pay?
Does Buffalo Wild Wings Take Apple Pay?
Buffalo Wild Wings does not officially support Apple Pay via their payment terminals or their official contactless payment options. However, they do accept credit cards and Google Pay as options when paying electronically, and you can also use gift cards.
Buffalo Wild Wings is also rolling out tap-enabled payment terminals to all of its locations. Therefore, you could try to use any payment option you can tap on a standard terminal for contactless payment at these locations. However, you will need to check with the restaurant before dining or at the time of payment to see if a tap-enabled terminal is available.
Not using Apple Pay may be frustrating to some customers who do not want to pay in cash, don’t use google pay, and don’t wish to provide credit card details.
Why Doesn’t Buffalo Wild Wings Take Apple Pay?
Buffalo Wild Wings has been slow to roll out contactless payment options. It wasn’t until September of 2020 that they started testing contactless payment methods at some of their locations. They officially rolled out the first version of this in 2021; however, this only included google pay and standard credit card payments.
Because this is such new technology for them and they are part of a larger group of restaurants, changes can take time as they test across various restaurants. Additionally, there is no word on why they chose Google Pay as the first option for a digital wallet, and it may have just been a preference from the implementors or leadership team.
When reviewing online, you can see that customers state Buffalo Wild Wings says they don’t accept Apple Pay. Still, if using a tap-enabled debit terminal, many customers have had success paying with Apple Pay. So is this a leftover from previous payment options or just luck?
Did Buffalo Wild Wings Ever Take Apple Pay?
Buffalo Wild Wings never officially supported Apple Pay. However, online reviews dating back to 2015 and earlier indicate you may have success depending on the payment terminal used by the specific location you are dining at.
For example, if the restaurant you are dining at has a tap-enabled payment terminal, you should have success in paying with Apple Pay. However, this is not guaranteed or supported by Buffalo Wild Wings, so having a backup payment method would be required.
So if there is nothing technical or from a business perspective holding the company back, customers that prefer Apple Pay may be wondering if it will ever be officially supported.
Will Buffalo Wild Wings Ever Take Apple Pay?
There is no word from Buffalo Wild Wings or their parent company on what new payment options will be available in the future. However, there is no reason they couldn’t start including Apple Pay as one of those payment options.
Many Buffalo Wild Wings locations already have tap-enabled payment terminals. However, testing would be required with Apple Pay, and all of their restaurants would need to update their payment terminals to be officially supported.
In addition, the company would also need to perform testing for their online payments to include Apple Pay, which has cost and time involved. Therefore, Apple Pay may not be on their priority list without their customers’ clear needs or requirements being voiced.
Interestingly enough, Buffalo Wild Wings’ parent company purchased Dunkin Donuts, which does accept Apple Pay. Therefore, this technology could be incorporated into the brand’s payment options. However, nothing has been discussed online about this.
So if Apple Pay isn’t officially supported, how can you pay at Buffalo Wild Wings without having to carry cash or hand over your credit card?
Any Other Way I Can Pay With My Phone at Buffalo Wild Wings?
The only official way to pay with your phone is through their app or online system. These both use the same backend system, which only allows you to use your credit card electronically, Google Pay, or gift cards.
As already mentioned, your success with Apple Pay and other digital wallets will have varying success depending on each location you dine at. They are not supported and not guaranteed to work, so you must have a backup option for payment.
You could look to use delivery apps that do accept Apple Pay and work with Buffalo Wild Wings, such as Grubhub, Doordash, and Ubereats. However, this option would be dependent on your location and if your local Buffalo Wild WIngs use these apps.
So if you don’t have Google Pay and don’t want to provide your credit card details online to the store, what are your other options?
What other payment does Buffalo Wild Wings accept?
If you want to use something physical to pay for your bill, your options are Cash, Credit Card, and Gift Cards. Outside of those options, you will not be guaranteed success.
If none of these options are to your liking and you only want to use Apple Pay, you need to look at other restaurants that accept Apple Pay.
Which other Restaurants take Apple Pay?
If Apple Pay is your preferred payment option and you want to support restaurants that accept it, there are certain restaurants similar to Buffalo Wild Wings that officially support Apple Pay.
Olive Garden and Hooters have recently added Apple Pay as a payment option, and Denny’s provides Apple Pay payments via their xDine app, which you can use at most locations.
Can I Use Apple Pay at Buffalo Wild Wings?
In reality, you should be able to use Apple Pay at any restaurant or store that provides tap-enabled payment terminals. For example, many customers in online reviews state that you can use Apple Pay at Buffalo Wild Wings, even though the company does not officially support this payment method.
If you decide to use Apple Pay at Buffalo Wild Wings, you should call beforehand to ensure they have a contactless or tap-enabled payment terminal, as well as taking alternative methods of payment with you.