Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says we are witnessing a huge shift in the way people buy things in America, and even though his brick and mortar Starbucks stores aren’t supporting Apple Pay right now, he still thinks it’s great for business.

Schultz appeared on CNBC this morning to talk about Starbucks’ mobile payments where he was taken to quipped by Jim Cramer for bragging in March that Starbucks had a big lead in mobile payments with its Starbucks app, only to get leap frogged by Apple Pay this month.

The Java King was adamant Stars’ currency would be relevant ‘at some point in the future’ but admitted there’s no other company that can get shoppers to change their behavior like Apple.



“Apple Pay is great for Starbucks, because here is a company that has the power and influence to change behavior….Starbucks is going to be in the middle of many conversations…in regards to mobile payments inside and outside our stores. But there’s no company local, global or national, that has been able to transform behavior the way Starbucks has. Apple hasn’t done it yet, we’re the only company processing 70 million payments a week.

Despite the high praise for Apple Pay, Schultz didn’t mention any plans to add Apple Pay support to stores anytime soon. Starbucks has it has its own competing app that lets users add money to their account and pay at the register, as well as earn loyalty rewards and discounts. The Starbucks iOS app is expected to get Apple Pay support later this year.

Schultz says that Starbucks accounted for 90% of the $1.3 billion in mobile payments made last year. Now that other retailers are jumping onto Apple Pay and other NFC payments, Starbucks’ marketshare destined to shrink in 2014.

You can watch the full interview below: