Taco Bell debuts app for ordering, mobile pay

Taco Bell on Tuesday debuted its mobile app for customer ordering. (Thinkstock)

LOS ANGELES — Taco Bell on Tuesday debuted its mobile app that allows customers to place an order, customize their food, access special offers and pay from their phones.

The move from the chain owned by Yum Brands Inc comes as restaurant chains, including McDonald’s Corp and, seek ways to use mobile technology to drum up more business and speed up service times.

“We believe mobile ordering and payment is the biggest innovation since the drive-thru,” Taco Bell President Brian Niccol said in a statement.