PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Coffee retail giant Starbucks announced that more than three million people had paid for their caffeine hit by using their mobile phone.
6,800 Starbucks cafes across the US accept the Starbucks Card Mobile system which allows iPhone and BlackBerry to pay via an application that displays a barcode scanned at the register.
Incredibly the system now accounts for 22 per cent of transactions with punters opting for the system to avoid the hassle of cash and change. Curiously the firm still hasn’t made an Android version of the application available.
The success of the barcode payment system is seen as pointing the way to more widespread mobile payment systems as more smartphones gain wireless Near Field Communications (NFC) capabilities.
