MasterCard, Hoyts, Commonwealth Bank trial mobile ordering from your seat

Ever wanted to order another tub of popcorn from your seat while you were watching a film? Well now you can, as three companies have bashed their collective heads together and come up with a way to let you do exactly that on the iPhone and Android smartphones.

Developed in conjunction with the Commonwealth Bank, MasterCard is trailing “QkR”, an app that takes advantage of both QR codes and Near-Field Communication technology, making it possible for phones to order products using MasterCard credit cards. The program is being tested in Hoyts Cinemas, allowing guests to order food and beverages without leaving their seats.

Next to each seat is a QR code with NFC enabled, allowing Android smartphones and iPhones to either scan the square code and initiate the service, or wave the NFC-enabled phone over the code. Few phones support Near-Field Communication technology, suggesting this feature only works with the Samsung Galaxy S and Samsung Galaxy Nexus handsets at the present time.

Once the code has been registered, guests can order food, have it charged to the card, and then have it delivered by staff of the cinema.

The service is currently a trial program and is being run in select “La Premiere” screens at Hoyts Cinemas. It’s possible that we could see this technology and concept rolled out to other cinemas across the country, but nothing concrete has been announce yet.