Is Starbucks Preparing A Blockchain-Based Payments App?

The leading coffee chain in the world, Starbucks, has already expressed a lot of positive thoughts about Bitcoin, blockchain and the entire technology linked to cryptocurrencies.

However, there has been more than just talks from the offices of the coffee giant. According to Howard Schultz, the Starbucks exec chairman and the face behind the brand, blockchain could be well accepted by the company and be part of their ‘bright’ future.

In an interview with Fox Business, Schultz has pointed out to the possibility of a “proprietary digital currency that will be integrated into their application. He also stated the following:

“I think blockchain technology is probably the rails in which an integrated app at Starbucks will be sitting on top of.”

Previously, Schultz has criticised the company for not developing their cryptocurrency nor investing in any blockchain startups. However, he has always been optimistic about developing a “consumer application” based on the blockchain.

Starbucks has already embraced mobile tech payments and over the past 4-5 years, created a proxy for a mobile digital payments system, according to Schultz’s statement for Fox Business. He also pointed out to the fact that more than 50% of the customers pay with their smartphones nowadays and in China, even three quarters of their business is cashless.

In the end, it is important to say that while Schultz praises the blockchain technology about its revolutionary features, he has no interest at all about Bitcoin – mostly because of the lengthy transaction times and hefty fees that recently plagued the network.