We knew that Square did a huge deal with Starbucks that would eventually wipe out the need for old-school cash registers, and the company shares tonight that the shift is in full effect.
Starting now, over 7,000 Starbucks stores in the US will be able to accept Square Wallet. Don’t pull a card out ever again, it’s all ready to go. If you haven’t used the service at other locations, it’s a super… → Read More
At its three-day Global Leadership Conference this week, Starbucks announced further details about its planned rollout and support for Square’s mobile payments platform. First revealed in August, the deal will allow iPhone and Android users to pay using the Square mobile app at Starbucks’ 7,000 U.S. locations. Now, we have a more exact timeframe for that launch: early November. (Previously, the… → Read More
The payments space was even further shaken up last night, with the news that Square will take over all U.S. credit and debit card transactions for Starbucks. And those who use the Pay with Square app (iPhone and Android) will be able to pay for their sugary caffeinated drinks with nothing more than their phone. This morning in New York, a handful of journalists sat down with Square CEO Jack Dorsey… → Read More
The $25 million funding and sales deal announced late yesterday between mobile payments startup Square and coffee giant Starbucks is big, but it is only the tip of the iceberg for what the implications will be for Square and for mobile payments in general.
The deal formally covers 7,000 U.S. Starbucks stores, where Starbucks says customers will have “another way to enjoy a quick and seamless… → Read More
It might not be the funding announcement we’ve been hearing rumors about, but today Square announced that they’ve partnered with Starbucks.
Beginning this fall, Square will begin processing all U.S. credit and debit card transactions at participating Starbucks stores across their 7,000 locations. Pay with Square users will be able to find a nearby Starbucks in the Square Directory from their… → Read More
Starbucks is expanding its mobile platform today with two big announcements. The first brings the company’s Android app to Canada and the U.K., and the second involves an update for U.S. users. Starting today, U.S. users of the Starbucks for Android application have access to a number of new features, the most notable being support for PayPal and the introduction of a Starbucks widget for your… → Read More
It may still be a feature phone world, and mobile payments are a work in progress, but the big movers in the space are happy to be the guinea pigs, knowing it will pay off down the line. Starbucks has been doing the mobile payment thing for a good two years now, and the app has grown from a simple gift card frontend for the iPhone to a more versatile product, and gone from select locations to over… → Read More
If you’ve been reading the internet regularly this week, you’re probably familiar with Jonathan’s card, a “social payment experiment” amounting to a public Starbucks gift card. You might have bought a coffee with it. You might have contributed to it. You might have suspected it of being a Starbucks viral (it isn’t).
What you probably haven’t done is set up a script to skim money off the card in… → Read More
The Internet (namely the corner populated by some dude with a coffee blog) is a place where no good deed goes unpunished. A few days ago, Jonathan Stark posted his Starbucks card online asking people to buy coffee and then recharge the card when it was falling low. The result? Lots of good will, lots of people with free coffee, and my day was improved immensely by being able to write about… → Read More
Jonathan’s Starbucks card lives in Jonathan Stark’s wallet. You can download a copy of the card (shown here) and, when there is money on it, scan it at any Starbucks to buy coffee and, as far as anyone can tell, Jonathan doesn’t care. Crazy, you say? Sure, it’s crazy… like a fox.
Jonathan Stark is a programmer and writer and has been experimenting with “social sharing of physical goods using… → Read More
Maaaan, this Barista chick already thinks you’re awesome. I mean, you ordered a “skinny half-caf quad-shot light ice dopio espresso with room for cream.” With that many words in your order, how can you not be awesome?
Now, imagine if you paid for that order with your Android phone. BOOM, love butterflies would pretty much fly out of her face. Too bad you can only use your mobile to pay at… → Read More
Just how big is the new Trenta size at Starbucks? Big enough to hold an entire bottle of wine. Greatest country in history. → Read More
Starbucks, the coffee giant, has just launched an electronic gift card program called Starbucks Card eGifts. There’s two primary ways to top-up your (or your friends’) gift cards. The first is simplest, and that’s by going to the Starbucks Web site and telling it which e-mail address to send the funds to. Nothing too complicated there, and you can specify whether to send a predetermined amount… → Read More
Yeah, today is Apple Day, but we still have a few hours till the big announcements. How to fill the time? Let’s start with this bit of news: Starbucks has launched something called the Starbucks Digital Network. It’s a collaboration with Yahoo, and it will “[serve] up a collection of hand-picked premium news, entertainment and lifestyle content along with local insights and events.” → Read More
At Wired’s Business Conference in New York City, Starbucks’ Howard Schultz announced that the coffee giant is now offering free Wifi to customers beginning July 1.
Currently, you can connect to AT&T WiFi in Starbucks stores, which is free for two hours if you have a registered Starbucks card. And if you are an AT&T customer, you can access connectivity in coffee shops for free. If… → Read More
Back in December, the location-based service Brightkite rolled out a new layer to its Augmented Reality (AR) view: ads. At the time, these were Google ads that showed up in a “relatively unobtrusive” way, as ReadWriteWeb put it. Now, those ads are getting more obtrusive because some big brands are on board.
Brightkite has been working with both Starbucks and McDonalds to bring more effective AR… → Read More
When partnering with brands for you location-based network, it’s probably best to choose companies that are ubiquitous. As in, Starbucks ubiquitous. With over 17,000 store locations around the world (including over 11,000 in the U.S. alone), the chain, as everyone knows, is everywhere. So it looks like Brightkite chose wisely.
Brightkite has a new deal with with coffee chain that with give users… → Read More
Here in Seattle, there isn’t enough room to swing a cat without hitting an open wi-fi access point. During lapses in my own internet service (damn you, Comcast) I have gotten by on my neighbors’, or one of the dozen cafes or bars within half a mile that have free, unfettered internet access. In fact, it’s become a sort of lifestyle I and other Seattleites subscribe to, flitting… → Read More
Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, has joined the board of directors of Starbucks, her first public company board position.
Sandberg, who’s generally shy of press (she’s done just one video interview since she joined Facebook a year ago), is going to be getting a lot of credit in the future for driving revenue growth at Facebook. Prior to Facebook she was the VP Online Operations and Sales at… → Read More
Reader Michael writes:
I could not log onto my Starbucks ATT WiFi account today. I called ATT and they said it’s part of the Starbucks issue that they are tying to resolve as quickly as possible. And that it’s not a technical issue but rather a business issue that is the reason for the denial of access. → Read More
Starbucks is giving out a free tall cup of its delightful brew today for anyone that asks for it. Originally, the coffee shop simply asked that you come in and tell the lady or gent behind the counter that you voted and then you will get a free cup but that is illegal in some states as it can be construed as a gift for voting. So now all you need to do is stroll in to your local Starbucks… → Read More
The joy of walking into a Starbucks and buying a CD or copping an iTunes gift card along with a venti iced coffee is over! The coffee chain, which has hit a bit of a rough patch, will no longer sell CDs or offer iTunes gift cards at its retail locations. It will still offer free Wi-Fi, though, so don’t freak out too much. Not enough people were buying CDs at stores to make it worth the… → Read More
Sleep easy now, friends, for the T-Mobile-AT&T-Starbucks lawsuit has been settled for an undisclosed sum, thought to be in the neighborhood of several venti ice coffees and a couple bottles of Ethos. Yup, the lawsuit that captured the imagination of dozens is now over. You’ll remember that T-Mobile threw a fit over Starbucks’ handling of turning over Wi-Fi responsibilities from it… → Read More
T-Mobile is crying “collusion” in response to Starbucks’ decision to take on AT&T Wi-Fi service in its stores. Reuters writes: T-Mobile is seeking unspecified damages against Starbucks for breach of its contract and unfair competition. According to a transition agreement reached in February, T-Mobile was given the exclusive right to “sell, market and promote its… → Read More
Flickr’d As reported yesterday, Starbucks is giving away two hours of free Wi-Fi to customers who purchase a $5 (minimum) Starbucks card. The two hours cannot be spread out from one coffee run to the next, though. If you want to take advantage, you’ll have to sit there and suffer. I could care less if Starbucks offered me 10 hours of free Wi-Fi to use whenever I feel like in a given… → Read More
Starbucks will give away Wi-Fi starting tomorrow, June 3. Or: When you register your Starbucks Card and use it at least once a month, you’ll receive two consecutive hours a day of complimentary Wi-Fi, courtesy of AT&T. Not much to complain about here, really. Buy an elitist latte once in a while, and check the headlines. Like, say, that Mourinho is officially at Inter Milan. And it’s… → Read More
Attention BlackBerry owners with addictions to terrible coffee- For a limited time RIM is giving BlackBerry Owner’s Club members a $5 Starbucks gift card. It’s worth the few minutes it takes to sign up if you’re a n00b. Or, if you’re already a member, you can login and get yours now. [via Gear Diary] → Read More
The on-again, off-again Wi-Fi service that AT&T offered for free to iPhone users last week is now back on. The AT&T wireless site has been updated to reflect that iPhone users now have access to more than 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots including Starbucks. I’m sure we’ll get an official statement from AT&T today. → Read More
AT&T has already equipped a few Starbucks in San Antonio with its Wi-Fi service and today both companies have officially announced that the national rollout has begun. Beginning May 1, AT&T customers who qualify will be privy to free Wi-Fi access at a Starbucks location near them. It’s unclear whether or not you, an AT&T customer, can use the service if the Starbucks is still… → Read More
We knew AT&T was taking over T-Mobile’s hotspot service across all Starbucks, but I didn’t think it would happen this soon. I guess it’s spring. The first known Starbucks to give T-Mobile the boot and replace it with AT&T has been spotted in San Antonio, TX. U-verse subscribers have free access so hop on over San Antonio-ites or whatever you call yourselves. I hate… → Read More
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