Starbucks using pay-by-name will be a breakthrough, assuming that's where the Square partnership is going. Since Starbucks is already asking for your name when you order coffee, it could turn into a great customer experience that would build broad momentum for pay-by-name.
Is this PayPal agreement just adding a new and more complicated option to the existing terminal base? Will retail clerks even know what it is, and will there be any reason for a consumer to migrate from credit card use?
Pay by name would be terrible for me, I have a very French name, and no Starbucks barista around here speaks enough French which means I have to spend quite a while spelling out my name for them. I've taken to just telling them my name is "G".
this is my first reaction too. I don't see how this makes it easier for the consumer. I don't especially want to type my user name and password into one of those terminals.
Pay by name uses the GPS in your phone so that when you walk into Starbucks, your face and name appear on the cash register. Walk into a Starbucks in a distant city:
Customer: "cappucino please"
employee: "Paul, right?"
customer: "yes"
employee: "decaf and skim, as usual?"
customer: "yes, thanks"
employee: "ok, you've paid by square"
The partnership didn't mention pay by name, but I can't imagine the partnership is really meaningful without it. This could spur widespread adoption of pay by name. When people start doing this at Starbucks, it will quickly seem like a normal way to pay, and using a card may start to seem clunky.
I guarantee that typing in a PayPal account number is hella clunky, and NFC little better. Do I reall want to unlock my phone to buy coffee?
Is this PayPal agreement just adding a new and more complicated option to the existing terminal base? Will retail clerks even know what it is, and will there be any reason for a consumer to migrate from credit card use?