One of the great conveniences of fast food is that you can often find it 24 hours a day. While not every restaurant is open that long, large chains like McDonald’s usually have locations that can serve burgers and fries around the clock. That said, you need to be aware that early morning service may not be exactly the same. In some places, you’ll often need to bring cash after midnight if you plan on buying a Big Mac.
McDonald’s stores rely on many computer systems to keep them running optimally, and stores that never close still require time to perform system resets. Just like your phone or modem, nothing runs forever. During the reset, updates are installed and the financial statistics for the day are finalized. According to one Reddit user, a McDonald’s may have as many as 20 different computers that need to be reset to ensure they remain running reliably.
Debit and credit cards cannot be accepted as the electronic payment system is closed. But old-fashioned cash can still work just fine. In fact, this is the time employees remove their cash drawers and count the day’s cash. This is usually done late at night or early in the morning, before the McDonald’s breakfast crowd arrives, when customer traffic is minimal.
Read more: 8 items to avoid ordering at McDonald’s
Don’t worry, just bring cash
Hand holding some 100 dollar bills – Alive Color Stock/Shutterstock
There is no set time for McDonald’s system reset. Some sources say midnight, others say 2 a.m., and still others say 4 a.m. at the latest. Sometimes, drive-thru restaurants may still accept electronic payments while indoor cash registers are cash-only (or vice versa). This is because the drive-thru and front desk may be running on different systems, and one system takes longer to update than the other. Some of McDonald’s payment systems may be quite old and take longer to fully reset.
The reset may only last 20 to 30 minutes, but some sources say it can last up to 45 minutes. Twenty minutes may not be a shocking wait, but if it’s late at night and you just want a delicious McDonald’s burger, that’s probably longer than you’re willing to wait.
Having to pay with cash can be a serious inconvenience if you’re not prepared. Data from DepositAccounts shows that 66% of respondents don’t always carry cash and 61% use cash less than five times a month. If you don’t take this into consideration, you probably won’t have cash with you when you go to McDonald’s late at night for a bite to eat. However, now that you know, maybe you can keep a few bucks in your wallet and check out our ultimate ranking of McDonald’s menu items before heading to the drive-thru.
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Read the original article on Tasting Table.