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Coffee, payments and the iPhone: Three of my favorite subjects!

Coffee, payments and the iPhone:  Three of my favorite subjects! 
 

I have an app in my iPhone that allows me to locate a Starbucks anywhere I am. The app not only tells me where the closest Starbucks is but it also tells me if it’s open and how to get there. I have used it numerous times, especially when traveling! I am never too far from my delicious soy latte.

With the latest update, Starbucks has made it even better: I can now tie my Starbucks Card to my iPhone app to pay for my latte and earn loyalty points!  

Despite the fact that I love local coffee-shops, and Starbucks is probably the main culprit of their extinction, I have always admired Starbucks’ business acumen. They listen to their customers closely and dream up solutions that constantly move them forward. 

And mobile payments is definitely a trend to stay ahead of. Closed-loop prepaid payment programs, like Starbucks’, have become popular among those trailblazing the field.  We’re likely to see this market grow enormously while the large mobile players race toward a true “mobile wallet” with NFC and UHF RFID technologies. Could we be doing away with plastics as quickly as we kill the check?

Cick here to enlarge.                                              

Image courtesy of First Annapolis Consulting.

-Martha