LOUISVILLE, KY - MasterCard Worldwide has taken mobile payments to movie theaters in Australia, teaming with Australia??s Commonwealth Bank and Hoyt Corporation movie theater chain to allow moviegoers to order and pay for snacks directly from their seats, Mobile Payments Today reports.

The mobile payments app, called QkR, incorporates NFC tags with a printed QR code on it to identify seat locations. Patrons scan the code or tap on the tag with an NFC-enabled phone to launch the app. They then order food and drinks, paying for their purchases from within the app, after which the order is delivered to their seats by theater staff.

The service kicks off later this month in Sydney at Hoyt??s La Premiere cinemas and will be available for iPhone and Android devices.

"For our La Premiere guests, being able to purchase a meal, dessert or another round of drinks using QkR without missing a second of the movie is a real luxury!" said Hoyt CEO Delfin Fernandez. "Hoyts has long embraced new technology to give our guests the ultimate cinema experience??and now QkR will eliminate the hassle of having to leave the cinema auditorium to place another food or drink order."

"QkR has many possible uses, and this pilot is just one great example of leveraging different technologies in a new way to create an easy and convenient ordering experience," said Matt Barr, MasterCard Australia??s head of market development. "We??re focused on smart ways to simplify and improve the consumer experience."