Well, not right away, but it is being considered. In a recent quarterly investor call, Starbucks Chairman Howard Shultz announced the company plans to embrace and incorporate blockchain technology and digital currencies as part of its long-term payment technology strategy.
Shultz did say while incorporating blockchain is in the Starbucks future, using Bitcoin is not. He said that he did not believe Bitcoin would “be a currency today or in the future“. He also stated that Starbucks would not be developing its own cryptocurrency either. He hopes to use the company’s stature to lend credibility to other projects in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.
Starbucks is not shy about adapting to technology and embracing it to its fullest extent. The company launched its payment app in 2015, and in less than three years has seen nearly one-third of its US-based transactions occur via mobile payment. Its app also includes its well-known Star Rewards program. Because of this Starbucks feels that it is in a place to offer companies chasing blockchain technology a legitimate space for their technology to be accepted and even used through Starbucks’s mobile payment platform.
Blockchain technology is making its rounds in the fast food industry too, with Burger King announcing last year that it would be launching its own WhopperCoin for its Russian locations. Although Starbucks may not be launching its own coin, it does appear the company is open to using some type of digital currency in the near future.
