Skip to main content

Starbucks now accepting mobile payments nationwide

Starbucks on Wednesday launched a mobile payment system at 6,800 stores nationwide and in 1,000 locations in Target stores. Starbucks patrons will now be able to pay for their lattes using a Starbucks app. The free app is currently available for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch and for RIM’s BlackBerry.

Customers will be able to access a barcode linked to their accounts, which then is scanned at the counter. The mobile payment system is tied into Starbucks’ existing app feature which lets users add money to a Starbucks payment card. Mobile users can add money to their accounts by credit card or through PayPal.

“Mobile payment is just one example of how we’re continually innovating on behalf of our customers to enhance the Starbucks Experience,” said Brady Brewer, vice president of Starbucks Card and Brand Loyalty. “A growing segment of our customers use smartphones, and through the Starbucks Card Mobile App, we’re providing them with the fastest way to pay.”

Starbucks is hoping the system will become widely adopted. In testing, Starbucks determined that the mobile payment system is faster than cash, credit, or Starbucks card.

Starbucks developed their own 2D bar code scanning technology that makes use of devices’ built-in cameras. The company is reportedly investigating the possibility of adapting near field communications technology (NFC) for a future mobile payment system, but will wait until the tech is more widely available before moving forward.

Starbucks is currently working on version of the mobile payment app for Android devices, but there’s no official word on when it will be available. The new payment system is Starbucks’ second big release of the week. On Monday the company unveiled a new 30 ounce “Trenta” drink size.

Editors' Recommendations

Aemon Malone
Former Digital Trends Contributor
More than 5 billion mobile phones to become waste this year
A pile of e-waste.

What do you do with your old phone when you replace it? If you’re one of the responsible folks who trade it in or recycle it, then good for you.

But according to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum, most mobile phones that get switched off for good simply disappear into drawers, closets, and garages, or get chucked into trash cans bound for landfills or incineration.

Read more
T-Mobile partners with SpaceX to ‘end mobile dead zones’
t mobile revvl news

T-Mobile is linking up with SpaceX to use its Starlink satellites to dramatically boost the carrier's cell phone coverage to pretty much all parts of the U.S., bringing connectivity to isolated areas that up to now have been out of reach of providers.

The service will launch next year, starting with texts, MMS, and select messaging apps. Current mobile phones will be able to use T-Mobile’s new service; in other words, no new technology will be required to make it work.

Read more
T-Mobile’s 5G network just beat Verizon and AT&T (again)
T-Mobile smartphone.

T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T always claim to be America's best 5G network in their commercials. T-Mobile boasts this even more so, and as it turns out, it's true. During PCMag's annual Best Mobile Network test (previously known as the Fastest Mobile Network test), T-Mobile won over Verizon and AT&T as the Best Mobile Network for the second year in a row.

PCMag gave T-Mobile the title after testers drove 10,000 miles across the country to measure its performance against Verizon and AT&T. The test involved driving to 30 cities and six rural regions to test each mobile carrier's reliability using Samsung Galaxy S22+ smartphones. As expected, T-Mobile won that contest in 18 cities out of 30, followed by Verizon with eight and AT&T with four.

Read more