Starbucks is taking steps to establish its presence in the realm of mobile commerce. Earlier this month, the big name coffee company announced that they would be using QR codes for a number of marketing events scheduled throughout the year. Indeed, one such campaign, which featured Lady Gaga, has already been a success. Now, the company is looking to give customers a faster way to pay by using NFC.
Starbucks has partnered with Barclaycard, a major credit card and load provider based in the UK, to develop a way for customers to make contactless payments for their products. The project is currently in development but will be ready for limited use by Spring 2012. Shops in the United Kingdom and Ireland will be the first to be able to use the NFC payment model.
Those using this form of payment will be able to use their Barclay credit cards to do so. Mobile devices will also be able to interact with the module, ensuring that anyone with such a device can pay that way.
Pete Blower, Starbucks EMEA Technology Services Manager, believes that using NFC is a step forward toward improving customer experience. “We’re seeing more people use cards for payment. Contactless will allow us to serve our customers more quickly and with greater ease.”
The popularity for contactless payments has grown exponentially in recent years. Barclays now has over 11 million NFC-enabled credit cards in circulation around the world.
