D.C. Coffeehouse Embraces Mobile Payments

Coffeeshop is the first store in D.C. to adopt Square's Card Case app.

June 08, 2011

WASHINGTON - The Chinatown Coffee Co. added a mobile payment option for its customers last week, deploying a new mobile payment application for smartphones that provides a cash or credit payment alternative for its customers, The Washington Post reports.

The store uses Square€™s Card Case mobile app to allow customers to establish an ongoing tab that is guaranteed with a pre-registered credit card. To date, Chinatown Coffee Co. is the only bricks-and-mortar shop in Washington, D.C., using the technology.

"One can always wait to try things because technology is changing every day, but at some point you just have to jump in and see what€™s working," said owner Max Brown, adding that his clients tend to adopt to technology quickly.

Chinatown Coffee had already been using Square€™s previous products when Square chose it as a pilot site for the new app.

"Our customers are generally younger to middle [aged] and understand technology well, so it seems like a natural fit for us," he said.

One customer activated the app while inside the shop and used his iPhone to verify his location. The store€™s barista then pulled up the customer€™s tab on an iPad, logged his purchase, which charged his card. And all without the swipe of plastic or the exchange of cash, with the receipt appearing on the customer€™s phone nearly instantly.

"I can keep track of what I spend," the customer said, sifting through digital receipts. "And I don€™t have to worry about change in my pocket afterward."

For more on mobile payments, see The iPad Coffee Program in the May issue of NACS Magazine.

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