Admitting to your friends and family that you're a Grade A Supernerd can be hard. Although, to be fair, they've probably suspected it since you were little. It's rare that it's a total shock to everyone. But showing the equivalent of your Star Wars Fan Club membership card to your current crush is ill-advised unless he or she is a card-carrying member of the club as well. So this blog comes with a warning: If you have a crush on a Starbucks Barista: The Funds Transfer Alliance advises you to proceed with caution!
That said, a couple days ago when Starbucks announced a mobile pay feature for smartphones that will allow you to pay for your java/scone combo their 6800 locations, well, we were atwitter with expectations and questions and curiosities. Now, for one company to create an closed payment system that won't work anywhere else is normally considered futile (unless your name is Apple) because you require people to carry some extra card or key chain gadget or something inconvenient. But since Starbucks (and soon McDonalds) is one of the few big chains where this grand mobile pay experiment is brewing, and people carry their phones with the EVERYWHERE anyways, we're curious to see what happens even if the system crosses no other platforms.
Essentially, to make it work, you download the app, buy a Starbucks card, which you can do online or in person, and connect the card to the app on your phone. That's frankly way too many steps and The FTA is positive it will get easier in the future. But for now, you still probably will have plastic and extra steps involved even if that's what you're intent on eliminating for environmental and or convenience purposes.
We linked to a blog we really like in which he compares this system to the NRA's philosophy about gun control. The analogy is great. Everything is like everything!
If you try it, let us know what you think! And if you see any other closed payment systems that are cool, please let us know!
Stay Caffeinated and Secure!
Image via Wikipedia
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