The McDonald's Cash-Only Rule Everyone Should Know

McDonald's is known for serving up iconic burgers, its historically popular Filet-O-Fish, and plenty of breakfast sandwiches. You might get to indulge in some of these favorites any time of day if you're near a 24-hour location. What you probably didn't know, though, is that the restaurant doesn't accept cards at all hours of the day; there could be a time during the night where you can only pay with cash.

Every 24 hours, there is a window of time where the chain's cash registers and card readers reset and temporarily go out of service. This tends to be in the middle of the night, such as between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. (the actual time slot varies by location), most likely because that's when the restaurants see the fewest customers. If you plan on hitting up your local McDonald's for a late-night snack, you should either make sure you have cash, or make sure your visit occurs outside of that cardless time.

Of course, cash isn't quite as common as it used to be, so many stores and restaurants lean toward cards and contactless payments. If you're someone who doesn't always carry cash, there is a possible loophole: You can try to order through the McDonald's app. You might even be able to find some good deals. At that hour, the app might still take orders if the payment system is different than the restaurant's cash register, but that's something you have to test to find out; some users have said the mobile app also shuts down at their location.

Another potential loophole is to order through a delivery service, such as Uber Eats, because that could also have a different payment system than the location's cash registers. The best way to avoid the cash-only issue could be to place a mobile order and schedule it ahead of time, then just go to the restaurant later that night. Of course, most post-midnight McDonald's runs tend to be spur of the moment, so you might just want to carry cash.