Tim Hortons goes touchless with debit

Thousands of Canadians can soon cut down on the stretch of their morning coffee break spent waiting in the Tim Hortons line.

Interac Flash will roll out at 2,300 Tim Hortons locations across Canada by the end of the month, with the hopes of reducing long lineups.

Interac Flash isn’t a new superhero with lightning speed churning out coffees by the dozen. Instead of punching in your PIN and waiting for the payment to go through, the newest enhancement to Interac Debit will allow customers to put their card in front of a scanner to pay directly from their bank accounts.

And for University of Toronto student Julia Riviglia her flash-enabled debit card is great when she doesn’t have much time.

“I didn’t even know I had it on my card,” Riviglia said as she used it for the very first time at the Tim Hortons at Bay Street and Wellesley Street. “It’s really cool.”

With the introduction of the technology — Flash is Canada’s lone touchless debit payment system — the speed of service will greatly improve, said David Clanachan, the coffee giant’s Chief Operating Officer.

“Every second at the counter and in the drive-thru counts,” he said. “Bringing new payment options such as Interac Flash to our restaurants is just one way for us to continue to innovate, provide value and convenience to our guests.”

Tim Hortons spokesperson Alexandra Cygal said the expanded menu over the last few years, and most recently the addition of Panini sandwiches, have played a role in the company’s decision to bring in the quick-payment method.

“We’ve introduced a lot of products to our menu that take a little longer to prepare and until they can get used to preparation,” she said, adding when debit was first introduced at the store, it didn’t cause a significant delay in service.

Ultimately, she said, with lunch a big part of their current menu more people are coming through the doors.

“We are busy in the mornings and (at) lunch now so… we have more options for our guests,” she said.

The plan calls for more than 3,000 of the 3,326 Tim Hortons locations the company owns in Canada (it also has 734 in the United States) to have Interac Flash by the end of the year.