( Mashable ) -- Nearly 6,800 company-operated Starbucks stores in the U.S. will begin accepting mobile payments Wednesday . Customers using the Starbucks Card Mobile app on their iPhone , iPod touch or BlackBerry will now be able to use those devices as tender . The nationwide rollout marks the official launch of the Starbucks Card Mobile payment program , which has been piloted at Target stores and select San Francisco , Seattle and New York Starbucks locations . Starbucks Card Mobile lets users add their Starbucks Cards , track rewards and reload cards as needed via PayPal or credit card . To pay with their phone , app users simply select `` touch to pay '' and hold up the barcode on their mobile device screen to the 2-D scanner at the register . An Android application is also said to be in the works , but the company has yet to disclose a release date . Starbucks is using its own custom-built technology to enable the 2-D mobile barcode scans . The coffee retailer opted for barcode scanning over near field communication technology -- which Google is exploring -- because of its limited availability . The coffee retailer was reluctant to wait for a NFC ecosystem to develop when its customers have expressed interest in mobile payments now , according to Chuck Davidson , the category manager of innovation on the Starbucks Card team . `` Once there are more users , we will adapt , '' he says . In testing , Starbucks assessed the mobile payment option by measuring application speed , transaction speed and total customer wait time , says Brady Brewer , vice president of Starbucks Card and brand loyalty . In all instances , Starbucks Card Mobile was the fastest way for customers to pay . Starbucks is investing in mobile payments , an investment Davidson describes as modest in relation to expectations , because customers have requested the option and have shown a propensity to not only pay with Starbucks Cards -- one in five transactions are made using a Starbucks Card -- but frequently use their smartphones while waiting in line . The company also believes that its customers carry their mobile phones more often than a wallet or purse , and sees Starbucks Card Mobile and the mobile payment program as an opportunity to reach these consumers and build stronger relationships . Starbucks seems confident that its customers will appreciate the new , faster way to pay . Both Davidson and Brewer believe that adoption will spread as customers tell their friends about the new mobile payment option . © 2010 MASHABLE.com . All rights reserved .
Nearly 6,800 Starbucks stores in U.S. will begin accepting mobile payments . Customers can use Starbucks Card Mobile app on their iPhone , iPod touch or BlackBerry . App lets users track rewards and reload cards as needed via PayPal or credit card .