Update: NPR's Scott Horsley reported on this on November 13. Go here to listen.

When Baby A was a few months old, I discovered a Starbucks with a drive-thru window, and I became a regular. I'd learned one of those things they don't tell you before you give birth: Sometimes it just doesn't make sense to get out of the car. (And caffeine is a must-have when you're up three times a night.)

It's not laziness, or overdependence on the car. On the contrary, it's the simple fact that once a baby goes to sleep, you really, really don't want to wake her up. Later comes the toddler corrollary: Once a whiny, fidgety toddler is strapped into her carseat, you really, really don't want to let her out until you're at your destination.

Wireless payment (or RFID or "contactless" payment) takes the drive-thru ease a step further. All you have to do to pay is wave a small wand in front of a reader. A third-party billing system relays the charges to your credit or debit card. Increasingly, quick-serve chains have been adopting this technology—McDonald's in the Chicago and Southern California areas were among the first to do it, some five or six years ago.

Now Jack in the Box says it's installing contactless card readers at all company restaurants, meaning guests can pay simply by holding their cards in front of a reader at the front counter or drive-thru window. No swipe required. And that's nice inside the store, too, when you're holding a wriggling kid and trying to fish out your wallet at the same time.

Contactless payment at Jack in the Box requires guests to have an American Express, Discover Network, MasterCard PayPass, or Visa Contactless card or device embedded with a chip that communicates with the reader via radio frequency.

JITB says installation of the readers should be completed by December 31. With the move, Jack in the Box will become one of the first major fast-food chains to accept contactless payment at all company restaurants.

Have you ever paid this way at a quick-serve restaurant? How well did it work?