starbucks

Square launches mobile payment service at 7,000 Starbucks

Mobile payment processor Square will launch its service at 7,000 Starbucks coffeehouses tomorrow.

In addition to processing credit and debit card transactions, Square's agreement with Starbucks allows customers to make purchases at the coffee shops with Square Wallet, Square's payer app. The launch comes three months after the two companies announced an extensive partnership, in which the coffee giant also announced a $25 million investment in the payment startup.

Square Wallet links directly to customers' credit or debit card accounts, allowing users to tap "pay here" or scan a QR code to pay for purchases … Read more

At Square, Jack Dorsey said to preach external code of silence

At Square, the white-hot mobile payments company, someone must take notes during any meeting involving more than two people, and then distribute them to the whole company. Yet despite that process, instituted by co-founder Jack Dorsey, the company is airtight, with few leaks, especially involving key news.

In a new Forbes profile of Dorsey -- who also co-founded Twitter -- we learn that despite this "astonishing" system, even the most sensitive news has remained safe inside the startup's posh San Francisco digs.

It doesn't matter what the meeting is about: bug fixes, new partnerships, pending contracts, … Read more

How to add your Starbucks card to Passbook

Yesterday, Starbucks updated its iPhone app with iOS 6 compatibility, including the much anticipated Passbook integration. Adding your card to Passbook is easy, and takes just a few minutes. You're now just a few short steps away from adding a Starbucks card to your Passbook.

Assuming you already have the Starbucks app installed on your iPhone, make sure you've downloaded the update from the App Store.

The first time you launch the updated app on your iOS 6 device, you'll immediately be asked if you want to add your card to Passbook. Tap on OK.

If … Read more

Starbucks to start taking Square Wallet payments next month

Next month, all you'll need is your smartphone and Square Wallet app to buy your latte at Starbucks.

The coffeehouse giant today said that customers will be able to use Square's mobile payment system in about 7,000 U.S. stores starting in early November. Customers will also be able to digitally tip their baristas using Square and Starbucks' existing mobile payment app beginning next summer.

The two companies in August formed an extensive partnership, as part of which Starbucks invested $25 million in the mobile payments company. Under the deal, Square agreed to process credit and debit … Read more

Starbucks iOS app adds support for Apple's Passbook

iOS 6 users who want to grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks can now pay for it through their iPhones.

Launched yesterday, the latest update to the Starbucks iOS app stirs in support for Apple's Passbook.

Starbucks Card owners can add their accounts to Passbook directly through the app. Once that's done, customers can pay for food and beverages, check their card balances, reload the card with more cash, and add rewards to score free drinks, all through the iPhone.

Unveiled in iOS 6, Passbook lets users store electronic copies of tickets, coupons, boarding passes, and loyalty … Read more

Starbucks: We'll be Passbook-ready before October

Starbucks says it will be integrated with Apple's Passbook by the end of the month.

The company announced the news on Twitter this morning, providing no further information about features or carryover for current Starbucks card holders.

A Starbucks spokesperson told CNET that an update to the company's iPhone app will let current Starbucks Card owners add their account to Passbook.

Passbook, which went out as part of iOS 6 earlier this week, is a new application from Apple designed to store membership cards, tickets, coupons, and boarding passes -- a bit like a digital wallet. As an … Read more

Apple calls Samsung a copycat in court

Apple is using Samsung's own words against it in their high-stakes patent-infringement trial.

Apple pointed to an internal Samsung document highlighting the weaknesses of the Galaxy S1 compared with the iPhone as further evidence that Samsung has copied its work. The document, a "relative evaluation report" on the Galaxy S1 and iPhone published in March 2010 and unearthed by Apple, highlights where Samsung's flagship phone fell short of the iPhone.

Apple will draw on this document as proof that Samsung actively compared its products against the iPhone, and made strides to better mimic the blockbuster device. … Read more

Did Starbucks just add $2.2B to Square's valuation?

Jack Dorsey, the 35-year-old tech star who runs mobile payment company Square, today announced what he called an "epic" deal with Starbucks that could bring the "Pay with Square" app into the mainstream.

How big? It's too soon to say for sure, of course. But a firm that researches private companies, PrivCo, calculates that Square's deal with Starbucks will add $120 million in annual revenue for Square next year and, even more impressive, boost its valuation by $2.2 billion by the end of 2013. That would give Square -- already one of the most highly valued private tech companies … Read more

The main perk of Starbucks-Square deal

Wednesday's top headlines are served with a low-fat triple shot of mobile news:

You may wonder why it matters that Square partnered with Starbucks. Customers could already pay for coffee by using the Starbucks app and show their phone screen to the barista. And how much time does that really save compared to taking out your wallet?

This deal is all about awareness. Seeing the Square logo in stores will help people get more comfortable with the idea of phones being a wallet replacement. Apple will also be pushing this concept in iOS 6 with the Passbook app that … Read more