Coffee chain giant Starbucks will soon accept cryptocurrency – via the Bakkt exchange.
The Fortune 500 company, which has more than 28,000 locations throughout the world, told Coin Rivet that it expects crypto to “gain traction” in the next few years.
A spokesperson said: “Through our role as a leader in mobile payments to our more than 16 million Starbucks Rewards members, we are committed to innovation for expanding payment options for our customers.
“Our role as the flagship retailer for Bakkt is to consult and develop applications for customers to convert their digital assets into US dollars, which can then be used in our stores.
“We anticipate that a range of cryptocurrencies will gain traction with customers and, through our work with Bakkt, we will be uniquely positioned to constantly consider and offer customers new and unique ways to pay seamlessly, at Starbucks.
“As we continue to move forward with this work, we anticipate we’ll have more to share in the coming months.”
Retail revolution
More and more retailers are eyeing crypto as a way to avoid high credit card fees.
French tobacco retailers now offer Bitcoin vouchers in denominations of 50, 100, or 250 euros after Keplerk struck a deal with a cash register software provider.
Customers can convert their vouchers into Bitcoin and store it in wallets on Keplerk’s platform. Around 3,000–4,000 tobacco shops are involved, with more to follow.
“Tobacco shop owners are the best channel as they are trusted by customers and they are used to selling vouchers such as credit for mobile phones,” Adil Zakhar, Keplerk’s Director for Strategy and Development, told Reuters.
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