Fast Food, Quicker Cash

Fast cash linked up with fast food Thursday.

Wells Fargo and Carl’s Jr. unveiled the first of 30 San Diego-area restaurants that will let consumers pay for meals with bank ATM cards instead of cash.

Carl’s Jr. thinks that purchases made with automated teller machine cards could eventually account for up to 10% of the chain’s transactions. The electronic terminals will be installed at 331 Carl’s Jr. restaurants in California if the six-month test is deemed successful.

The ubiquitous point-of-sale devices, similar to those that have popped up in gasoline stations, supermarkets, retail outlets and amusement parks, automatically deduct the meal’s cost--and up to $20 in cash--from the consumer’s checking account.

The machines accept 10.5 million ATM cards that are associated with Interlink, the point-of-sale network that includes Wells Fargo, Bank of America, First Interstate Bank and Security Pacific Bank.