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"Is paper cash becoming a collector's item like the Buffalo nickel? \nIt would seem that way, considering the increase in the number of plastic-only food establishments. A number of restaurants and food trucks make paying with the swipe of a card on a smartphone as easy as foodtruck mini-pies. The latest, and seemingly most convenient, mobile payment option is paying via a QR code.\nIn San Francisco's Metreon, a gourmet sandwich shop called Split Breadis the latest eatery to offer such service. Each tabletop has a metal stripe with a QR code printed on it. Patrons sit down and scan the QR code with their smartphones to pull-up the digital menu. Customers place their order without ever speaking to a real person. When their order is ready, they pick it up at the counter. \nYou can also order ahead and grab sandwiches to-go, entering your expected pick-up time online. But one thing you can't do is pay with cash. The manager of Split Bread told me that about 30% of their customers order and pay through the QR codes on the tables. Eventually, they hope to get that number to 100%. But, he said, they might keep a register to two in order to keep the not-so- QR-savvy customers coming back.\nDavid Silverglide, one of the founders of Split Bread, said they wanted to provide a payment option that was seamless for customers, device agnostic and wouldn't force customers to download an app. \n\nSEE ALSO: Mobile Payments May Replace Cash, Credit Cards by 2020 [STUDY]\nOrdering using the QR codes on the table isn't necessarily more time efficient, at least for now \u2014 but it is cool. Eventually, Silverglide said it will save time and allow groups of people to avoid lines and the hassle of splitting bills. In the future, you'll be able to sit at a table and have a tab open. \n\"We want to make sure as the payment space evolves, that we can adapt quickly,\" he said. \n\nSEE ALSO: 4 Ways Restaurants Should Use QR Codes\nThe Melt, a gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich shop that has been popping up with new locations all over San Francisco since its opening in September, began accepting QR code payments about a month after its opening. QR codes let consumers bypass the lines, plus for customers, it can be a fun way to use your smartphone. \n\"Melt.com online orders are running between 5-10% of all transactions depending on store location,\" Paul Coletta, CMO at The Melt tells Mashable. Patrons can skip the line and redeem the QR code anytime.  \nEateries that eschew cash are common in San Francisco, and food trucks that use mobile payment services such as Google Wallet, PayPal Here or Square to process payments are common place. \n\n SEE ALSO: Mobile Payment Smackdown: Square vs. PayPal Here\nBut using plastic for every purchase \u2014 plus apps that remember your banking information \u2014 concerns many customers. After all, information hacks have occurred in the past due to weak security in certain mobile payment systems. \nStanding in a food truck line in San Francisco (the food truck used Square), I chatted with a customer who expressed his concern about mobile payments. \n\nSEE ALSO: Mobile Payment Chips Could Let Hackers Into Your Phone\n\"If the guy loses his phone, what happens to that information?\" he said. Like many of his friends, he said, he's concerned about mobile security but it's just the way mobile payments are headed. Plus, he added, it is convenient. \nDo you think QR code payments make purchases simpler? Tell us in the comments. \nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, pressureUA"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/09/11/qr-codes-mobile-payments/>