Starbucks Card Mobile Lets You Pay With Your Phone (SBUX)

Hot on the heels of Starbucks' (NASDAQ: SBUX) newest offering in fluid expansion – the 31-ounce Trenta – the company has announced that almost all of its company-operated stores will begin accepting mobile payments today.

The new payment option (which spans nearly 6,800 locations nationwide) is available to Starbucks customers who use the company's new Starbucks Card Mobile app, which is currently available for the iPhone, iPod Touch (NASDAQ: AAPL), and the BlackBerry (NASDAQ: RIMM).

Starbucks had previously tested this payment system at its Target (NYSE: TGT) retailers, as well as select San Francisco, Seattle and New York locations.

With the new app, customers can purchase Starbucks Cards, keep track of rewards they've earned, and reload cards via PayPal or credit card. Paying sounds easy enough: simply tap the “touch to pay” icon and hold their phone (which will display a barcode) up to a scanner at the register.

Going forward, Starbucks plans to add the app to Android (NASDAQ: GOOG) phones.

Before launching the Starbucks Card Mobile app, the company assessed its effectiveness by measuring application speed, transaction speed, and total customer wait time. Starbucks was very pleased the results, noting that the app provided the fastest way to pay in all three categories.