Starbucks prepaid cards sell at 42 cards per second
Company also announces virtual gift card option
Starbucks customers loaded a record US$700m into Starbucks prepaid card accounts during its most recent quarter, up 39% from the same period a year earlier, according to Troy Alstead, the company’s chief financial officer.
Mobile payments
Meanwhile, the Seattle-based coffee chain has also announced a national rollout to nearly 6,800 stores of its mobile app and the launch of an e-gifting program in time for Valentine’s Day. Launched in the Pacific Northwest and expanded to New York City, the mobile payments pilot enables consumers to load, check balances and manage their Starbucks Cards and make purchases at Starbucks retail locations via mobile devices.
The app is available for iPhone, iPod Touch and BlackBerry devices.
The company also announced this month a virtual gift card option powered by e-gifting technology provider CashStar. Consumers can purchase a Starbucks Card online and send it via email to a recipient, along with a customized message, on any day the buyer chooses. The virtual cards, which can be denominated in any amount between $5 and $100, also may be delivered via Facebook. Now customers at all US stores can pay using the free app which uses a barcode on the handset screen that is held in front of a 2-D scanner on the counter to pay for purchase.