Starbucks Pushes Mobile Payments Ahead of New Business Trend


Mobile marketing for business is exploding these days, but there’s another side to the mobile revolution that you’ll want to consider, especially if your company takes customer payments regularly. Here are a few new developments and what you need to understand about the mobile payment trend.

Starbucks Mobile

The fastest way to pay. The hugely successful coffee chain offers a way to pay for beverages and other products using your smartphone in a move many say could be the payment of choice for the future. Here are the details on the Starbucks app, in all its glory. Perhaps providing your own payment option might be in the cards for your business, too. Starbucks for Android

Wake up and smell the coffee. Starbucks is introducing the Android app already available in its US store to customers in Canada and the UK. Currently the company boasts 55 million transactions from mobile devices in the US. Imagine the mobile sales your business may be missing. The Verge

Here comes big foot. With the new apps, Starbucks expands its mobile payment footprint globally. The company’s efforts will help boost customer acceptance and demand for a new way of paying for products and services, creating the opportunity for other business to experiment with mobile payment programs too. Chain Store Age

Startup Services

Mobile moving to your town. While mobile payments may not yet be an option for many brick and mortar businesses, it could be soon. GoPago, a startup offering its own smartphone payment app for merchants and backed by an investment from JP Morgan Chase, is testing the app in San Francisco and soon other major cities. Technology Review

Paydiant dials for dollars. And now the Maryland-based company has raised $12 million in investment from Stage 1 Ventures, amounting to a total of $20 million in investment to date. Experts say mobile payments have been waiting to take off, and it seems many companies are preparing to provide services, making it easier for businesses to take those payments. Xconomy

Mobile Trends

Smartphone users call for mobile option. Lest any business owner question whether a demand for mobile payment truly exists, take a look at results from a survey by the International Data Corporation. According to the survey, one third of Americans have already made mobile payments. BizReport

Putting mobile payments on speed dial. Plenty of data suggests mobile payments are an option customers want to use now and in the future, and one that could mean additional revenue for businesses. But more effort and customer education is needed to jump start mainstream adoption. Ad Age Digital

Mobile moves up. The trend toward mobile payments is part of an overall increase in the use of mobile devices, not just for purchasing, but for accessing bank accounts, credit card, and other financial information in the US, says the US Federal Reserve. The increase in use of mobile devices for all of these daily activities should give business owners a good idea of where they should be headed to connect with customers. Daily Deal Media

Other Ways to Pay

Being where you’re not. For some, mobile payments might involve paying for something, perhaps your daily cup of coffee, while physically at your local coffee shop. But research indicates an even greater number of customers buy on their mobile devices whether at a physical location or not, for example buying tickets for your favorite concert or sports event on your smartphone. The Third Screen

Apple doesn’t move on mobile payments. While Google already offers a payment system on its Android platform and Microsoft is preparing a mobile payment option of its own, one major company is dragging its feet on mobile payments citing security concerns. The delay might be a hurdle for businesses seeking to offer mobile payment options. PC World

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