Tip Your Starbucks Barista With Your iPhone

Starbucks is making some pretty exciting changes when it comes to how you pay for your drinks. (Or whatever else you may get). The company is already a clear leader in the field of mobile payments. And starting today (3/19/14), for those in the United States, customers who have the Starbucks iOS app will be able to use their smartphones to also send a tip to their baristas. That’s a good option, right?

Besides the ability to tip the barista, users of the app will also be able to shake their phone to pay for their items. So now, there will be even fewer reasons to not tip your barista – if you use an iPhone, of course.

An Easy Way To Tip

In case you’re worried about going broke by constantly using your phone to tip your barista, Starbucks has made it so you can only tip in 3 different amounts: $0.50, $1, or $2. Of course if you get multiple drinks throughout the day, you could wind up spending quite a bit solely on tips, but that’s your business.

I see promise with this app upgrade, and I think it will be quite a popular option with Starbucks patrons. It probably won’t be too long before other restaurants, etc. catch on and try something similar if it’s successful. But honestly, what hasn’t Starbucks been successful with? They seem to have the Midas touch.

Do you see the day coming when we won’t even need to carry a wallet as our smartphones will be capable of storing all of the information it contained? What do you think – will you be using your phone to tip?

[Image via imore]

SOURCE: http://mobile.theverge.com/2014/3/12/5499640/starbucks-iphone-tipping-baristas-digitally