Starbucks mPayments Mobile Application
Written on Thursday, July 29, 2010
Remember the article, a while back, about Starbucks running a pilot for a mobile payments application, that would allow people to pay for their coffee directly from their iPhone, while queueing up?
Well, it turns out it must have gone pretty well, because Starbucks are now moving to deploy the scheme on an even broader scale, according to this article, that quotes Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announcing this week that the Seattle-based coffee chain would soon be expanding its mobile payment program to more stores over the coming months.
"We know believe that offering mobile payment and mobile gifting capabilities will result in a more efficient in-store experience," said Schultz.
After entering in a Starbucks card number in the application, the Starbucks Card app displays a barcode which can then be shown at checkout in lieu of handing over a physical card to be swiped. The app also allows customers to check their card's balance, view transactions and reload the card with new funds.
Currently, the mobile payment aspect to the application works at 16 select stores in Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Jose and Seattle where the feature has been in testing in addition to all Target locations in the U.S.Based on the program's "early success" and user feedback which Schultz describes as "positive," the company is now committed to expanding the program in the months ahead. According to Schultz, not only does the mobile app make for a more efficient in-store experience for Starbucks customers, it will also provide the company with a significant competitive advantage and help further differentiate it from its competitors.
For the Starbucks regulars from the lot of you, check the list of participating stores in the Starbucks mobile payments program.
This service was launched nearly a year ago, in September, when Starbucks customers with iPhones could pay for their purchases via their mobile device using a special Starbucks Card mobile application. The app was initially accepted at just 16 Seattle and Bay Area stores which were taking part in the pilot program. This was later expanded to include 1,000 Target stores across the U.S.
I agree with the folks over at ReadWriteWeb who commented:
While we at ReadWriteWeb are certainly fans of mobile technology, it will be interesting to watch as this sort of mobile payment system takes hold outside of the very tech-savvy enclaves where it has been initially tested. Will mainstream users adopt this system in large numbers? Will it really be more efficient or will you be stuck in line behind folks fiddling with their phones? And where, by golly, is the Android version?
I'd also pointed out the need for more mobile platforms supported (such as J2ME, Symbian and Android) in my last article, and I am also certainly looking forward to the turnout of this mobile payments scheme.
It will be a major bet won for the whole mPayments sector, and from the looks of it so far, it's doing pretty well.
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easy to get the mobile phone application and free application available
It's great to see apps like these which are making purchasing everything, from coffee to clothes, much more efficient and faster, but it's disappointing to that apps for the Android are far behind. This was a very intelligent move done by Starbucks, now the check-out process will be even faster for all the busy-bodies on-the-go. With the Android's increasing popularity, Starbucks should develop one for those mobile customers. Thanks for the app insight! Great blog and awesome layout!
-9blogger @ blog.ninemultimedia.com
Cheers for the kind words... :)
Yeah and it's not just Android. The iPhone has brought a huge revolution in mobile apps. But it seems like everyone focused on the iPhone so much that they have forgotten about all the other platforms there are..
A lot of the world is dominated by Blackberries, Android is definitely up there (& growing..) and there is also a big share on the market with other smartphones or older phones.
Bringing out a new idea as an iPhone app (like Starbucks have done) is great... But once you see people love it, then you need to open it up to more and more people..
Its so great that mobile payment applications are very usefull in our life. By using these applications are so good, the technology have been using for this application is iPhone. Its so helpfull for all. My sincere thanks to the author, kindly update the blog with an interesting info.