Pizza Express, a chain of pizza restaurants throughout the United Kingdom, has launched an in-restaurant mobile payment system through PayPal.

According to Tamebay.com, this is the first instance in the world that an online payment method has been made available to a chain of outlets across an entire country.

Pizza Express' new iPhone app gives customers the option of paying their billx through smartphone devices and provides a restaurant locator and the ability to make a reservation. Guests can also view menus and special offers via iPhones.

The mobile payment option allows customers to square away their bills without the wait. Electronic receipts are sent to smartphones once the bill is paid.

The app is already and is free from the Apple app store. It will be accepted in 370 Pizza Express units throughout the UK.

The new app coincides with the chain's systemwide rollout of free wireless via The Cloud.

From the story:

"Over a million UK PayPal customers have made a payment on their handset so combining our payments experience with PizzaExpress's ground breaking app should be a perfect combination. The line between the high street and the online world is blurring, and innovative brands like PizzaExpress recognize that payment by mobile makes a great service even better," said Cameron McLean, General Manager, Merchant Services at PayPal.