News

Starbucks mobile payment app to invade UK, Ireland

November 27, 2011

Starbucks is set to cross the Atlantic. According to the International Business Times, starting Jan. 5, 2012, customers in the 700 Starbucks locations in the U.K. and Ireland will be able to load their gift cards onto their smartphones and use their devices to pay for purchases at the point of sale.

The app will be available for devices running iOS, Android and BlackBerry operating systems.

"Customers want to be served quickly, but fewer want to use cash," said Brian Waring, Starbucks UK and Ireland vice president of marketing.

"We wanted to find a way for them to pay in the quickest way possible," Waring said. "Because our customers want it, we have created our own custom-built mobile payment technology rather than waiting for the near field communication technology, which is currently not widely available."

The application has proven a huge success for Starbucks. The company announced in November the application has been used more than 20 million times since its January launch in the U.S. The mobile payment application was expanded into Canadian locations earlier this month.

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