Starbucks adds Android, Safeway to mobile payment solution
By Matthew Ismael Ruiz on 15 Jun 11Starbucks has announced that they will be extending their popular mobile payment system to the Android platform tomorrow, June 15.
The system debuted on the BlackBerry and iOS platforms in January, and nine weeks after its release Starbucks claimed to have processed more than 3 million mobile payments.
Mobile payments are grounded in the “Starbucks Card” infrastructure; users can use the app to re-load their card, or to produce a scannable barcode that deducts sales totals from the user’s account balance. They can also find nearby stores and view rewards status.
Starbucks also announced they will be extending the mobile payment system to their locations within Safeway supermarkets. Safeway subsidiaries Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb and Genuardi’s are also included.
Much like a busy commuter anxiously waiting in line for their morning venti double soy mocha cappuccino, Starbucks doesn’t have time to wait around. So rather than allow smartphone mobile payment technology (read: NFC) to develop, the coffee retailer chose to make use of the most widely available technology.
“Quite frankly, we’re not willing to wait for the NFC system to mature in the United States,” Starbucks’ Chuck Davidson said.
via Mashable
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