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How a coffee purveyor — and not a technology company like Google Inc. or Apple Inc. — became a leader in mobile payments is a testament to the acumen of Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz. In 2011, while tech companies like Google tried to get consumers to use complicated mobile-payment systems requiring new phones and revamped in-store terminals, Starbucks introduced an app that used simple QR codes. And perhaps just as important, the chain offered rewards like free beverages for using it.

The app was an instant hit, becoming what Richard Crone, CEO of mobile-strategy specialist Crone Consulting LLC, called “the most successful launch of a new payment type in history.”

Reshaping Cafes

Within a few years, Starbucks’ mobile app will account for more than 50 per cent of all transactions in company-owned U.S. stores, Brotman said. That means it may even help reshape how cafes look, putting Starbucks on track to become a mobile-first company, akin to Facebook Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc.

More than 21 per cent of transactions at company-owned U.S. stores now come through the app. In February, about 7 million orders were placed through mobile devices in U.S. cafés, the company said. The order-ahead feature already accounts for about 15 per cent of those payments, and 3 per cent of total transactions.

China Focus

One of the main areas of focus is China, the company’s biggest-growth market. Schultz has touted mobile payment as having the ability to boost sales in the Asian nation as consumers there have gone quickly from rotary to smartphones.