If you like Chinese food and you’re in a hurry, you might want to visit Panda Express. It has a cafeteria-style format so you don’t have to wait for your food to be prepared and it even has drive-thru lanes at some locations. Here are your payment options at Panda Express.
Frequently Used Forms of Payment at Panda Express
Panda Express | Cash | Large Bills | Personal Checks | Debit Card | Credit Card | Apple Pay | Google Pay | UnionPay | JCB | PayPal | Venmo |
In-store | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Online | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Like other fast-food restaurants, one of Panda Express’ main strengths is convenience and this restaurant also offers several additional payment options that provide additional convenience. It accepts Apple Pay for both dine-in and online purchases, although there are a few other restaurants that do this as well. You can also use Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other mobile wallets to order in the drive-thru lane if you’re at a location that has one.
But what’s really noteworthy is that Panda Express also accepts PayPal and Venmo for dine-in orders, which is very rare for a restaurant. Sometimes it even offers special promotional deals for dine-in customers who use PayPal and Venmo.
Using Alternative Payment Options at Panda Express
Panda Express | Klarna | Affirm | Afterpay | Sezzle | Zip | PayPal Credit | EBT | Store Gift Card | Store Credit Card |
In-store | No | Yes | No | ||||||
Online | No | Yes | No |
While you can use many common payment options at this restaurant, it doesn’t support a few of the less common payment methods that are available elsewhere. Panda Express doesn’t accept EBT and I confirmed this by checking the Restaurant Meals participant lists for several Southern California counties. If you’re looking for an alternative and qualify for the Restaurant Meals program, you can use EBT at many Yoshinoya restaurants in Los Angeles, though.
You can also use gift cards for both online and dine-in orders at Panda Express. Some restaurants don’t accept gift cards for online orders so it’s important to check this information if you plan to pay with a gift card.
More Things to Know About Panda Express
This fast-food restaurant serves a lot of Chinese entrees that are popular in the US such as orange chicken and Kung Pao Beef. It also has sides like egg rolls, noodles, and rice. These entrees and sides are stored in heated metal plates behind the restaurant’s counter, so you can just walk up to the counter and have the employee put the items you want on your plate. As you might expect, you usually don’t have to wait very long for your meal even if there’s a line when you arrive because of this cafeteria-style format.
Vegans and vegetarians should also know that Panda Express serves a plant-based eggplant dish and it also stopped flavoring its rice with animal products several years ago. It is possible to eat a vegan meal at Panda Express now, although other restaurants may offer more vegan options.
Other Asian Fast-Food Restaurants That Accept Apple Pay
The Asian fusion restaurant WaBa Grill has a few additional protein options such as tofu and seafood and you can also order avocado as a topping there. It has several locations in Orange County and has also expanded into other regions of Southern California.
Best known for its beef bowls, Yoshinoya is a Japanese quick-service restaurant that has many locations in Los Angeles.
The fast-casual Asian restaurant Pick Up Stix serves Chinese and Thai dishes. Many of its restaurants are located in upscale Southern California neighborhoods, although I’d say its menu prices are comparable to those of other fast-casual restaurants.
You can also order teriyaki bowls and other Japanese entrees at the fast-casual restaurant Teriyaki Madness. It has several locations in the Los Angeles area as well as other regions of Southern California.