Starbucks is going cashless, at least in one location.
The Seattle-based coffee giant on Tuesday opened a unit in its home market that will not take cash.
The company in an email described the location as a “test” to gather views from both employees and customers. “The test will help us understand how cashless forms of payment may impact our customer experience,” a company spokesperson said in an email.
The test is only at the one location, at the Russell Investments Center in Seattle, at least for now. The company could not say on Wednesday whether the test would be expanded to other locations.
The effort continues the restaurant industry’s slow but sure move into cashless efforts. The kiosk-only chain Eatsa, for instance, expanded with its cashless locations before closing five of its units. Yet that company is now helping other restaurants use its technology, beginning with Wow Bao.
The credit card company Visa has offered awards to restaurant owners that go cashless.
Chains have started looking at this, too. In October, Shake Shack said it would open a single, cash-free unit in New York.
That Starbucks is experimenting with this is hardly a surprise. The company is widely seen as one of the restaurant industry’s most technologically savvy companies.
Mobile order and pay, for instance, represents 10% of company transactions, and more than a third of the chain’s domestic sales come from its 13.3 million Starbucks Rewards loyalty members.
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