By
Bhushan Akolkar
March 22nd, 2024
Users of the Starbucks mobile app will soon have the opportunity to pay for their drinks with Bakkt Cash. According to Bakkt, at the current moment, the crypto payment option is only in limited beta.
Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Bakkt partners with Starbucks to introduce a new payment option for Starbucks mobile app users. Named “Bakkt Cash”, the feature is already available for Starbucks customers as a limited beta.
We're also reducing payment costs for merchants which improves their bottom line. Open your @Starbucks app to see our first direct integration and select @Bakkt to sign up for our Early Access Program pic.twitter.com/sZ3YlE0Sj9
— Adam White (@WhiteAdamL) March 16, 2020
To enjoy the new payment integration, customers will have to sign up for the platform’s Early Access Program.
Starbucks chain commented:
“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.”
According to the company, it is also a “strategic launch partner” for dollar-denominated digital wallet of Bakkt. By the way, the latter has been considering offering loyalty point programs and crypto payments through a single app since February.
Bakkt CEO Mike Blandina stated:
“At Bakkt, we take a broad view of digital assets. Digital assets include things as diverse as loyalty and rewards points, in-game assets, merchant stored value, and cryptocurrencies, and collectively represent nearly $1 trillion in consumer spending power. Despite the size of this market, consumers still find digital assets to be difficult to access, confusing to keep track of, and challenging to use.”
He further added:
“Bakkt gives users control over their digital assets. Whether it’s miles from your favorite airline, loyalty points from the local grocery store, or bitcoin you’ve purchased, the Bakkt app enables you to aggregate all of these assets into a single digital wallet.”
According to Blandina, Bakkt will launch the wallet “later this summer.”
Bakkt’s Series B Fundraising Round
The news Bakkt partners with Starbucks follows the exchange closing its Series B fundraising round. Notably, the participants included Bakkt’s parent company Intercontinental Exchanges (ICE), Microsoft‘s M12, Boston Consulting Group, Pantera Capital, PayU, CMT Digital, and Goldfinch Partners. During the round, Bakkt managed to raise as much as $300 million.
In addition, Bakkt has recently acquired a customer loyalty services company Bridge2 Solutions.
Bakkt wrote in a blog post:
“With the completion of our Series B financing and recent acquisition of Bridge2 Solutions, Bakkt is now a team of 350 employees and powers the loyalty redemption programs for 7 of the top 10 financial institutions and over 4,500 loyalty and incentive programs including two of the largest US airlines.”
With the acquisition and fundraising, Bakkt hopes to accomplish its goal for the 2020 fiscal year. In particular, the company is going to focus more on its consumer adoption as well as boost ICE’s growth.