Back in January, we talked a bit about the mobile payment solution that Starbucks was working on for its locations around the country. At the time, there were third party Android apps that you could use to pay with your mobile phone. We mentioned then that an official app was in the works. That official app has now landed called Starbucks for Android. You can grab the app on the Android market right now in version 1.0 form added this week.
Starbucks still says that the app is the fastest way to pay for your drinks in the store and if you have to get your coffee in the morning and are always late for work speed is good. The app can be loaded with money using a major credit card. Transaction history is still recorded and the app works at any of the company-owned Starbucks stores and in over 1000 Target locations with Starbucks drinks.
The app has some known limitations to be aware of. It only supports US Starbucks Cards. It does not support Starbucks Store Credit Cards or Duetto Cards. It will only work for domestic phones numbers for sure; international numbers may not consistently work. Only one Starbucks card can be loaded at a time, but there are instructions for reloading other cards. The app requires Android 2.1 and higher and is free.
What strange timing this is…Just yesterday the My Coffee Card app (which basically does what this does) was the free app of the day on Amazon.
Either Amazon knew something, or Starbucks got scared! 🙂
It worked great until I upgraded to a Gold Card. Now, I can no longer use the app to pay. Numerous emails to the support website have been fruitless. What good is an app with crummy support?
Starbucks has done a good job of suppressing the problems with its new, unuseable Android App. With its millions it makes a day, you would think it could get it right before launching/imposing it on their customers. To add insult to injury, you can’t get the old app back. Not a good example of corporate stewsardship. Come on guys, fix it now!