Category: Mobile Payments

1 in 6 of purchases made at the coffee company is via mobile phones.

According to Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, during the company’s third quarter earnings, 16% of the nearly 7 million transactions occurring each week at its shops are via mobile payments and this success is due to the early launch of its mobile version of its payment card, which has lead to Starbucks transacting over 90% of purchases made via mobile devices in the US, last year.

Shultz says that “the real growth is yet to come”.

The company’s upcoming mobile order and pay app will be its most significant technological innovation released in 2014. The CEO said that “Starbucks Coffee has cracked the code to tying mobile payment to loyalty.”

He explained that the success Starbucks has achieved has to do with leveraging “the intersection of three powerful mobile trends.” According to Shultz, these trends include a change in consumer behavior as people are spending more time online and less time in physical stores. There is also the trend of people eating out and less at home and the growing trend of people engaging in online activity via their mobile devices.

Shultz explained that Starbucks mobile order and pay” seamlessly integrates mobile ordering and our proprietary mobile program with point of sale and store operations.” He said that this enables Starbucks to enhances the experience of its customers, exceed their expectations and extend their loyalty.

Starbucks is seeing a growth of 50% in mobile payments every year.

The new mobile order and pay app is set to be launched in the Portland market in December and throughout the nation in 2015. The new app will enable consumers to place their order before heading to select stores, so they can pick up their order without having to wait in line.

The number of Starbucks cafés continues to expand in 2014, with more drive-up options being added to stores. Shultz said that even though the company does not have the software or the hardware expertise of its competitors it has managed to alter consumer behavior, which is something its competition has not done. The CEO stated that Starbucks has achieved this by integrating mobile payments convenience into an enjoyable and compelling program that gives customers rewards.

The largest food service retailer in the world is now accepting these smartphone transactions in about 14,000 locations.

Customers who eat at McDonald’s in the United States will now be able to use their smartphones to pay for their orders now that the quick service restaurant has teamed up with the Softcard and its mobile wallet.

This type of mobile payments transaction will be available to customers both in the restaurant and the drive-thru.

To use their mobile wallet service, they will be able to use NFC technology enabled smartphones with the Softcard app. They merely need to tap the device against the near field communication reader at any of the U.S. locations of the restaurant. This makes it the largest deployment of mobile payments via NFC that has ever occurred in a drive-thru setting.

According to McDonald’s representatives, the company is very pleased to offer this new mobile wallet service.

The McDonald’s USA vice president of media and consumer connection, Anja Carroll, said that “We are pleased to announce this national launch after a successful pilot program that began in 2013. Our work with Softcard further reinforces McDonald’s commitment to customer service and convenience.”

Carroll went on to say that by working with leading brands within the mobile payments and m-commerce sphere, “we’re able to deliver a more meaningful experience to our customers that includes greater speed, ease and value.”

The mobile wallet app from Softcard is available for free and brings payments, loyalty, and discount offers together in one digital location. The app is compatible with over 80 different mobile devices across Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile. The service works with the contactless EMV global standard as well as with the m-commerce technology from SmartTap.

Softcard chief executive officer, Michael Abbott, called the quick service restaurant “one of the world’s most iconic and innovative brands.” He added that the reach and scale of McDonald’s will help to broaden the awareness and use of mobile payments and will bring this type of transaction one step closer to being mainstream. It will also help to demonstrate the specific value offered by the Softcard smartphone based wallet app, said Abbott.