Starbucks launches largest mobile payment program in the US

[jgarzik]

"Starbucks launches largest mobile payment program in the US"
http://www.techspot.com/news/42051-starbucks-launches-largest-mobile-payment-program-in-the-us.html

To pay with their phone, app users simply select "touch to pay" and hold up the barcode on the screen to the 2D scanner at the register.

     and

Starbucks is using its own custom-built technology, choosing barcode scanning over near field communication technology (NFC) because the latter has limited availability. The company may go NFC once there are enough mobile customers using it, but in the meantime it wanted to roll out mobile payments.

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[Stephen Gornick]

from: http://www.psfk.com/2011/01/starbucks-makes-life-on-the-go-even-easier.html

[nofuture]

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2011/01/buying-coffee-with-a-cell-phone-is-fun-and-a-game-changer.html

[sirius]

Systems like this may be our biggest competitors, but they can also pave the way for mobile payments and the idea of "virtual currency". And we can get good ideas about how the UI should work.

[FreeMoney]

Systems like this may be our biggest competitors, but they can also pave the way for mobile payments and the idea of "virtual currency". And we can get good ideas about how the UI should work.

I was just telling my wife how great this Starbucks thing is for bitcoin. If people get used to paying with a phone switching to bitcoin is a no brainer. "It works exactly like my other app but I gain value instead of losing it? Okay, convert funds please."

[grondilu]

Systems like this may be our biggest competitors, but they can also pave the way for mobile payments and the idea of "virtual currency". And we can get good ideas about how the UI should work.

I agree with the scond part.  It's not a competitor at all.

It's rather a first step towards bitcoin and private currencies.