Subway is beefing up its mobile initiatives.

The quick-service restaurant with 27,000 U.S. locations recently rolled out an app with remote ordering capabilities. Subway also recently tested a program in Canada that offers consumers promotions when they use Subway’s in-store Wi-Fi.

Subway launched a beta version of its app in a few markets in October 2014, and then rolled out the iPhone and Android app nationwide in May.

Subway, however, did not start promoting the app until midway through the summer. Initially, Subway is promoting the app with local TV and radio campaigns, and will slowly implement national media campaigns.

“This entry into digital is something new for us,” says Ken Moy, Subway’s director of global payments and emerging commerce. He notes Subway only started taking online orders at the end of 2013.

In the app, consumers can place an order before they reach the restaurant, a feature not yet universal in quick-service restaurant apps. For example, McDonald’s is in the process of rolling out an app nationwide that is only for locating restaurants and distributing coupons, not for ordering ahead.

For Subway, rolling out the app nationwide meant making sure it could accurately display each restaurant’s menu. For example, in Texas, Subway has a specialty barbecue sandwich on its menu that’s not available in other parts of the country. Subway had to ensure it had that sandwich available for consumers in that region when they selected their local Subway location in the app, Moy says.

Consumers must pay in the app when they place their order. Consumers can pay with Apple Pay, or save their credit cards and set up a default payment choice, Moy says. Right now payment is a three-step process in app, Moy says. Later this year, Subway will integrate PayPal’s one-touch checkout in the app as well.

While it allows ordering, the app does not permit a customer to schedule a pickup time. Instead, immediately after a customer places an order the app tells him the sandwich will be ready in 15 minutes. Scheduling a pick-up time is in the works for a future app update, Moy says.

Moy would not reveal how many consumers have downloaded the app, but says Subway is encouraged by the number of downloads.

“We feel digital channels overall is an important part of how we interact with our consumers,” Moy says.

Subway used mobile payments firm Paydiant Inc., which PayPal recently acquired, to create the app. Subway and Paydiant started working together in mid-2013. Moy would not disclose how much building the app cost.

Meanwhile, Subways in Northern Ontario, Canada, recently partnered with Turnstyle Analytics Inc. to offer consumers promotions for using those restaurants’ Wi-Fi. When a consumer logs in to the in-store Wi-Fi, Subway can send her an alert on her smartphone with an offer, according to Turnstyle. This gives Subway a digital type of loyalty program. When visiting a Subway again, she will automatiically be logged into the Subway Wi-Fi, giving the restaurant information about how many times she visits the store and allowing Subway to reward her with promotions.