Does Yoshinoya Take Apple Pay?


Yoshinoya is a Japanese fast-food restaurant offering a variety of affordable menu items. It has locations throughout the world, but in the United States, it is only found in California due to closures in other parts of the country.

It does provide some contactless payment methods, though it doesn’t appear to be heavily invested or interested in increasing its footprint in this area, especially outside of Japan.

Apple Pay is a fast, convenient and secure payment option that many consumers use over traditional payments. Especially when dealing with high volume locations like fast-food restaurants. Nobody really wants to be touching the payment terminals or providing their physical cards to retailers.

So with Yoghinoya’s narrow foot in the contactless payment world and the rise of Apple Pay as one of the top new payment methods, does Yoshinoyaaccept Apple Pay.

Does Yoshinoya Take Apple Pay?

Yoshinoya does not accept Apple Pay officially, and its customer support indicates they do not support itOpens in a new tab.. Unfortunately, since its customer support said this, there has been no further information, so Apple Pay is likely still not supported.

I called two Yoshinoya locations, and neither could confirm if Apple Pay was accepted. When I asked about the payment terminals, they said they were newer tap-enabled. So, it’s possible Apple Pay can be used; however, that depends on the payment terminals available at your local Toshinoya.

Some review websites indicate Apple Pay is accepted, but none of the actual reviews mention this. So it’s unclear if this is a default option, a mistake, or whether some reviewers left that specific point out but selected Apple Pay as a payment option in the review process.

Yoshinoya does offer contactless payment via their website, which provides pick up or delivery in some locations. However, your only option for payment when ordering on their website is a credit card.

Their mobile app purports to accept orders, but when downloaded, it just sends me to their website.

Why Doesn’t Yoshinoya Take Apple Pay?

Yoshinoya does not have a public reason for not taking Apple Pay, and there are no partnership agreements that I can see which would exclude Apple Pay. Yoshinoya just has limited payment options and doesn’t appear to be working on increasing them.

Yoshinoya had initial success in Japan. It started operations in the United States and tried to expand; however, it has fallen back to being only in California due to several closures and failuresOpens in a new tab.. With the issues it faces and potential revenue losses, it may not have enough money to invest in new payment options for its customers at this time.

Yoshinoya is also no longer a dine-in restaurant, offering pick-up and delivery only. Everything the company is doing in the United States appears to be around just staying afloat and operating still.

You may wonder if the company was initially successful in the United States, whether it previously offered Apple Pay.

Did Yoshinoya Ever Take Apple Pay Before?

Yoshinoya has never accepted Apple Pay in the United States, and its customer support indicated at least four years ago that they did not. Some news storiesOpens in a new tab. show that Yoshinoya in Japan accepted Apple Pay, at least for a short time, but I haven’t seen any further information on that since 2018.

Now the question becomes, will Yoshinoya ever accept Apple Pay, assuming they don’t go out of business.

Will Yoshinoya Ever Take Apple Pay in the Future?

Yoshinoya may accept Apple Pay in the future because there is no specific reason they don’t. It may just come down to how well they do and if they have the money to develop and invest in new payment technology.

If Yoshinoya locations are upgraded to the latest tap-enabled payment terminals, they may already be ready to accept Apple Pay. However, because Apple Pay is not officially supported, you would need to confirm with your location if they have a tap-enabled payment terminal and then try to use it. Ensure you have a backup method of payment if you want to try this.

If using Apple Pay is not an option at your local Yoshinoya, then what other contactless options are there for your phone?

Any other way I can Pay With My Phone at Yoshinoya?

The only supported way to pay with your phone at Yoshinoya is via their website, which allows you to order and pay with a credit card.

If you want a guaranteed way to pay with Apple Pay for your Yoshinoya food, you need to use a delivery serviceOpens in a new tab.. Yoshinoya has partnerships with DoorDash, UberEats, and Postmates, all of which allow you to pay with Apple Pay. While providing conventional delivery, delivery services will enable you to pay and pick up in-store, so if you don’t mind paying extra, you technically can go to a Yoshinoya location and pay via Apple Pay.

So if Apple Pay isn’t supported, and there are limited options for paying via your phone, what other contactless payment methods does Yoshinoya take?

What other Contactless Payments does Yoshinoya take?

Yoshinoya does not explicitly offer any other contactless payment options that we haven’t already discussed. However, they do appear to have tap-enabled payment terminals, which means you can tap your debit or credit cards that offer contactless payment.

So without Apple Pay, what other similar restaurants can you go to that will accept Apple Pay.

Which Other Restaurants take Apple Pay?

Apple Pay is such a convenient way to make payments, and consumers are demanding this type of option more and more every day. Most fast-food restaurants are providing this via their mobile apps or upgrading to tap-enabled payment terminals. Below are some excellent alternatives to Yoshinoya:

  1. Panda ExpressOpens in a new tab. started rolling out Apple Pay via their payment terminals beginning in 2019. So just order your food and tap your Apple Pay device at the terminal.
  2. Pei Wei Asian DinerOpens in a new tab. was an early adopter of Apple Pay, accepting this payment option in 2015. You simply tap your Apple device at the payment terminal.

Unfortunately, many smaller restaurants don’t have the finances to get Apple Pay officially supported. They may not even think it’s a benefit to them to do it. If they have tap-enabled payment terminals, they could perform some testing and then offer it to their customers. So it’s likely an issue of money and awareness with smaller businesses.

So to recap everything, is it at all possible to use Apple Pay at Yoshinoya?

Can I Use Apple Pay at Yoshinoya?

It is not officially possible to use Apple Pay at Yoshinoya. However, you can call the store and ask if they have a tap-enabled payment terminal. If they do, you can attempt to pay via Apple Pay as there is really no special setup required for Apple Pay to work.

You can also use a delivery service as the middle-man for your Apple Pay payments. This option is good if you want delivery anyway. However, if used for pick-up orders, you will be paying extra than if you paid Yoshinoya directly.

Outside of those two options, you will need to wait for Yoshinoya to catch up with technology.

Brian A.

Brian has always loved the dining experience, a talent he inherited from his family, who already succeeded in the restaurant business. Throughout his years of managing various cultural restaurants, Brian has extensive knowledge in restaurant industry.

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