McDonald’s loyalty programme reaches 1.5 million registered users in Colombia

McDonald’s loyalty programme has around 1.5 million registered users in Colombia, according to information published by EL TIEMPO on 23 September 2026. Its aim is to encourage occasional restaurant customers to buy more frequently, putting customer relationships at the heart of the discussion for the franchising community.

A user base to encourage repeat visits

The figure appeared in an article citing comments made by Diego Higuera, Director of Digital Customer Engagement at Arcos Dorados, in an interview with Portafolio. Arcos Dorados, the world’s largest McDonald’s franchisee, is supporting its growth in Colombia with a tool designed to encourage customers to return.

The stated aim is clear: to get occasional customers to buy more often. This focus highlights a dimension of the business beyond opening restaurants. Alongside entering new locations, the company wants people who already know its restaurants to visit more frequently.

The available figure refers to people registered with the programme. It does not, on its own, represent active users or completed purchases. The information provided does not detail how many registered users engage with the programme regularly, how often they visit or what proportion of sales they account for.

What the figure reveals — and what remains unknown

For the franchising community, the reach of a loyalty programme offers an insight into the relationship between a brand and its customers. In this case, the roughly 1.5 million registrations show the scale of the registered user base, while the stated aim identifies the behaviour the company wants to encourage: more frequent visits.

However, the report provides no comparison with earlier periods. These figures therefore cannot establish how quickly the programme has grown or attribute any specific increase in sales to it. Nor does the report give a future registration target or a deadline for reaching one.

This distinction matters when assessing the news. A registered user base and a commercial outcome are different measures. The available information establishes the programme’s approximate size and its objective, but does not demonstrate how much participants’ purchasing behaviour has changed.

Building loyalty alongside geographical expansion

The drive to increase visits coincides with Arcos Dorados’ expansion plans in Colombia. According to the same report, the company signed its first agreement with a franchise operator for a restaurant in Valledupar. Under this arrangement, the franchisee provides capital to open and operate the restaurant, with support from the company.

That announcement provides context for the loyalty programme, although it does not establish a direct link between the two initiatives. The available information does not specify how the programme will be implemented at that restaurant or set out any particular terms for its future customers.

Meanwhile, Pulzo reported on 21 September that the company is also assessing opportunities in cities where it does not yet have a presence, such as Tunja. This is an assessment of opportunities, not a confirmed opening. The outlet also reported Arcos Dorados’ statement that Colombia is currently its fastest-growing market in the region, without providing a growth rate to quantify that claim.

A useful reference point for assessing customer relationships

For those considering Colombia’s franchise market, the significance of this news lies in the company’s stated objective: to complement its physical presence with initiatives aimed at occasional customers. User registrations are the publicly available measure; the additional visits the programme seeks to generate remain an objective whose results are not quantified in the sources consulted.

Practical takeaway: when assessing a loyalty programme, ask separately for figures on registered users, active users and purchase frequency. For McDonald’s in Colombia, the confirmed figure is a base of around 1.5 million registered users, not a demonstrated measure of additional sales.