McDonald’s upgrades — cashiers out, computers in-McDonald’s restaurants in Europe

McDonald’s restaurants in Europe will soon be swapping the chain’s legendary “service with a smile” with “service with a beep.” European McDonald’s restaurants are preparing to replace cashiers with touch screen computers at terminals where customers will be able to order up their hamburgers and fries and pay with credit cards.

About 7,000 of the fast food franchise’s locations in the United Kingdom will be fitted with the touch screen technology, which aims to make the McDonald’s experience more convenient and accommodating.

The touch screen method of ordering will improve efficiency and make the average transaction three to four seconds faster for each customer, Steve Easterbrook, president of the European branch of McDonald’s, told the Financial Times. Easterbrook didn’t provide a date for when the touch screens, which were inspired by a trip to Japan, will be introduced to UK McDonald’s restaurants.

The new terminals also will phase out cash as an accepted payment method, as the machines will only take credit and debit cards. No word yet on whether McDonald’s in the United States will be next in line to replace cashiers with computers, but the addition doesn’t seem to be part of the ongoing $1 billion makeover of the company’s U.S. restaurants.