Starbucks launches new payment tech in Europe

Starbucks has rolled out a new payment platform across 943 stores in the UK, Austria and Switzerland.

In these stores, the coffee retailer has installed around 2,375 payment terminals.

The technology is designed to safeguard transactions during potential network outages to protect against lost sales.

Since August 2025, the company said this technology has safeguarded over 45,000 Starbucks transactions across these three markets that would have otherwise failed due to WiFi connectivity issues.

Starbucks licensee Alsea has expanded its partnership with technology firm Adyen to install the new platform.

Adyen already provides payments services for Alsea Mexico.

Starbucks transitioned the platform to 900 stores in just seven weeks, with 123 stores installing the technology in a single week.

The migration was carried out during standard working hours, which Starbucks said ensured minimal disruption to its customers’ daily coffee rituals and maintained peak store efficiency.

The technology has already processed the sale of over 20 million cups of Starbucks coffee across these markets.

Starbucks said feedback from store partners has been positive, with employees stating that the system is faster and more intuitive.

“At Starbucks, the quality of our coffee and service are at the heart of everything we do, and our technology must be just as reliable,” said John Elliott, VP technology, EMEA at Starbucks. “This stability allows our teams to stay focused on our guests and the coffee they love, without technical issues getting in the way.”