Mobile Payment Magazine

Starbucks Announces Android App for Mobile Payments

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Starbucks today announced the latest offering of the Starbucks mobile platform with the launch of Starbucks for Android app providing more consumers access to purchase Starbucks products via mobile. In addition, the company announced that Safeway, Inc., one of the nation’s largest supermarket chains, plans to rollout mobile payment in July at nearly 1,000 Starbucks in Safeway supermarkets across the United States, including the company’s Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb and Genuardi’s stores.

Starbucks for Android is available through Android Market for Android phones running 2.1 or above and follows the successful rollout of Starbucks Card Mobile Apps on other platforms. With mobile payment capability at nearly 6,800 U.S. company-operated Starbucks stores and more than 1,000 Starbucks Target locations, bringing mobile payment to Starbucks Safeway stores will extend the reach of Starbucks mobile payment to roughly 9,000 Starbucks locations across the country.

“The expansion of our mobile payment footprint has been driven by customer interest and input. With the addition of Starbucks for Android to the Starbucks app line-up, a Starbucks mobile payment app may now be used on approximately 90 percent of smartphones currently in use,” said Adam Brotman, vice president, general manager, Digital Ventures at Starbucks Coffee Company. “Starbucks is committed to providing customers richer experiences — both in our stores and on-the-go. By expanding mobile payment capabilities to Android smartphones and with Safeway now offering mobile payment in its close to 1,000 Starbucks locations, we’re giving customers the opportunity to experience mobile payment in more ways and at more Starbucks locations.”

Starbucks for Android, available from Android Market, is available for Android phones running 2.1 or above and is designed to offer a rich user experience, specifically addressing Android interaction paradigms including device hardkeys and action bar softkeys. Starbucks for Android allows users to:

— Pay with your phone: Enjoy the fastest, more convenient way to pay at nearly 6,800 company-operated stores as well as more than 1,000 Target stores and coming this summer to nearly 1,000 Starbucks locations in Safeway stores. Just download the app, enter your Starbucks Card number, scan and go.

— Manage your card account: Access your Starbucks Card balance directly from your phone.

— Reload your card balance: Use your smartphone to reload your Starbucks Card using any major credit card.

— Check your My Starbucks Rewards status: Find out how close you are to earning your next free drink.

— Find nearby Starbucks stores: Save time by finding a Starbucks store near you.

The introduction of Starbucks for Android and expansion to nearly 1,000 Starbucks in Safeway stores was fueled by customer requests and the growing customer interest in mobile wallets. “We’ve received a tremendous number of requests on MyStarbucksIdea for a Starbucks app for Android,” says Brotman. “We’re excited to introduce an Android app that our customers can use as part of their daily routines.”

Starbucks mobile offerings build on the popularity of the Starbucks Card and My Starbucks Rewards loyalty program. Today, one in five transactions in U.S. Starbucks stores are paid for with a Starbucks Card. “Our customers have shown us that they love the utility, convenience and fun of our mobile apps and especially the ability to pay with their Starbucks Card using a smartphone. My Starbucks Rewards members, in particular, have been quick to adopt mobile payment as part of their everyday visit,” says Brady Brewer, vice president Starbucks Card and Loyalty. “While mobile payment is the top feature, customers’ next favorites are the ability to reload their Starbucks Card and track their progress toward their next free drink in the My Starbucks Rewards program.”

Starbucks for Android is available for Android phones running 2.1 or above.

Source: Business Wire

Mobile Payments Research Report 2011: Battle in a Fragmented Market

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Research and Markets  has announced the addition of the “Mobile Payments – A Battle of Giants in a Fragmented Market” report to their offering.

This study spotlights the mobile payment market, provides details about the related services and their technological aspects, analyses the usages and the industrial structure with a drawn of the value chain. The report makes an in-depth look in examining several business models – for NFC, SMS, Fixed/mobile wallet & App Stores – their impacts and upcoming opportunities.

Key Questions

  • What are the different mobile payment services and which technologies are being used?
  • Who is using M-payment and how do they use it?
  • How are this emerging market and its value chain structured?
  • What are the existing business models and who is the furthest along with their deployments?
  • What are the market’s key figures and what are the main forces driving development?
  • What does the competition landscape look like?
  • What sustainable opportunities are available to the different kind of players?

Key Topics Covered:

  • 1. Executive Summary
  • 2. Introduction
  • 3. Market structure and key factors
  • 4. Organisation & Industrial Strategy
  • 5. Strategic analysis
  • Tables
  • Figures

Companies Mentioned:

  • Amazon Mobile Payments
  • American Express
  • Apple
  • BarclayCard
  • Billing revolution
  • Boku
  • Carrefour
  • Deutsche Telekom
  • Facebook
  • Gemalto
  • Google
  • McDonald
  • MoBeePay
  • NFC
  • Nokia
  • NTT docomo
  • Obopay
  • Orange
  • PayPal
  • PTC
  • Sprint
  • Starbucks
  • Subway
  • Telecom Italia
  • Telefonica
  • Venmo
  • Verifone
  • Visa
  • Zong

More information: Research and Markets

Starbucks Mobile M-Payment May Be Tipping Point for Mobile Payments

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Drew Sievers believes Starbucks’ rollout of an app-based mobile payments system to more than 7,500 locations nationwide could represent a tipping point toward mainstream acceptance of the phone as a means to make purchases. And, ultimately, that adoption could pave the way for future advances in mobile and Near Field Communications payments.

Sievers, the co-founder and CEO of mFoundry, the mobile banking and payments solutions provider behind the app, says that Starbucks saw the ability for its customers to make payments through their mobile phone as a game changer. “They wouldn’t have done this if they didn’t believe it wasn’t valuable to them,” he adds.

via Bank Systems & Technology

U.S. Mobile Payment Market to Top $200 Billion by 2015, Says Research Report

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A recent report from Aite Group forecasts that U.S. mobile bill payments will reach more than $200  billion in 2015.

Aite Group interviewed more than 60 companies in the Fall of 2010 and produced a 65 page report that defines and segments the mobile payment industry, and includes an analysis of the competitive and market trends.

Each one of the multiple categories of mobile payments defined in the report will experience double-digit growth, with mobile payments accounting for  US$214 billion in gross dollar volume by 2015, up from US$16 billion in 2010–a 68% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2010 and 2015.

The report references the following companies: Allstate, Amazon, American Express, Apple, AT&T, Bango, Bank of America, Barclays, Bill2Mobile, BlackBerry, Bling Nation, BOKU, Brink’s, C-Sam, Cashedge, Cellfire, Chase, Chase Paymentech, Cimbal, ClairMail, coupons.com, Coupons Sherpa, Visa’s Cybersource, Device Fidelity, Diebold, Discover, Eagle Eye Solutions, eBay, Euronet, Facebook, First Data, FIS, Fiserv, Foursquare, Gemalto, Global Payments, Google, Gowalla, Green Dot, Groupon, Harland Financial Services, Heartland Payment Systems, Hipcricket, iLoop Mobile, Inside Contactless, Intuit, Jack Henry/iPay Technologies, Kubra, MasterCard, mFoundry, Mobile Coupons, Mocapay, MoneyGram, Monitise Group, mopay, MyWebGrocer, NCR, NetSpend, Nokia, Oberthur Technologies, Obopay, OfferIQ, Online Resources, PayPal, Plastyc, Pyxis Mobile, Research-in-Motion (RIM), Roam Data (Ingenico), Roamware, Rocketbuxx, SK C&C USA, Square, Starbucks, Sybase, T-Mobile, Tetherball, 3i Infotech, Tier Technologies, TransferTo, TSYS, Twitter, U.S. Bank, VeriFone, Verizon, Vesta, Visa, ViVOtech, Waspit, Way Systems, Western Union, Wincor Nixdorf, WirelessLoyalty, Xipwire, Yelp, and Zong.

More information: Aite Group Mobile Payment Report.

Source: Aite Group

Starbucks Mobile Payment Test Expands to New York City

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Starbucks today announced the expansion of its Starbucks Card Mobile payment test to nearly 300 company-operated stores in New York City, and Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island. This builds on the successful launch of Starbucks Card Mobile App for select BlackBerry smartphones, iPhone and iPod touch, and the Starbucks mobile payment test which started in fall 2009. Now, Starbucks next mobile move will offer customers in the New York City area an enhanced Starbucks Experience, including the ease and convenience of paying for their favorite Starbucks beverage with their mobile phone.

“Mobile technology is part of our customers’ daily routine and with the expansion of mobile payment in our test cities, we’re seeing more and more customers using their smartphones as their mobile wallets,” said Brady Brewer, vice president Starbucks Card and Loyalty. “We’ve heard from our customers on My Starbucks Idea that they want a faster, more convenient way to pay. Now we’re inviting customers in New York City and Long Island to experience mobile payment and the fastest way to pay at Starbucks. Mobile is just one of the ways we continue to innovate and enhance the experience for our customers.”

In response to customer feedback, the Starbucks Card Mobile App was first developed for select BlackBerry smartphones and iPhone as these devices are used by more than 71 percent of Starbucks smartphone-carrying customers. To experience mobile payment at participating New York City-area Starbucks, customers just need to download the free Starbucks Card Mobile App on their supported BlackBerry smartphone, iPhone or iPod touch. In addition to the mobile payment feature, the app allows customers to manage their card account, reload their card balance directly from their smartphone with a major credit card, check their My Starbucks Rewards status, or find nearby Starbucks stores. With the Starbucks Card Mobile App, customers will have a barcode on their screen that they’ll hold in front of a 2-D scanner on the counter to pay for their purchase.

The expansion of mobile payment into New York City builds on the successful test program currently in 16 stores in Seattle and Northern California and at more than 1000 Starbucks in U.S. Target stores. The overall Starbucks Card program is experiencing impressive growth and performance, and currently almost one in five of all in-store transactions are paid for with a Starbucks Card, an activity made even more convenient with the introduction of Starbucks Card Mobile App. Customers are on track to load more than $1 billion on Starbucks Cards this year, and at the end of the third quarter, sales of cards were up 17 percent over last year and the reload on existing cards was up more than 59 percent compared to last year.

“With the expansion of mobile payment to New York City, we expect to see more and more customers trading their plastic Starbucks Cards for the digital version on their mobile phone. In addition to the payment capability, customers can also keep track of their My Starbucks Rewards status and reload their card while they are on the way to Starbucks or in line,” said Brewer. “Expanding our mobile footprint gives our customers a new way to connect with Starbucks on the go and transforms the way customers experience their Starbucks Card through the mobile app.”