Starbucks is not just in the business of coffee and real estate — they are moving into mobile payments and are Apple Pay’s real competitor.
Earlier this week, Starbucks dropped Square for mobile payment in its stores, unwinding the partnership the companies announced in 2012.
Square had made Square Wallet obsolete in favor of its newer Square Order, but Starbucks declined to support either. According to a spokesperson for Starbucks:
Starbucks is not adopting Square Order in our stores. We opted to build our own mobile ordering solution, leveraging our own mobile app and world-class loyalty program.
THE CORNERPLAY 