THE STARBUCKS COFFEE chain has announced that it will launch a mobile payment app in Ireland in the new year.

The app will also be rolled out in the UK from the same date, 5 January. A total of 700 branches across Ireland and the UK will use the payment system, which will initially be available for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The company said the payment method would cut transaction time by up to 10 seconds, reports the International Business Times.

The plans follow the success of the same mobile payment app in the United States, which aimed to “enhance the Starbucks Experience,” according to the vice president of Starbucks Card and Brand Loyalty, Brady Brewer.

The one-touch mobile app was rolled out across 9,000 stores in the US last January and was used in more than 20 million transactions in the past year, according to the company.

PocketLint quotes Brian Waring, Vice President of Marketing and Category for Starbucks UK and Ireland as saying: “Customers want to be served quickly, but fewer want to use cash. We wanted to find a way for them to pay in the quickest way possible. Because our customers want it, we have created our own custom-built mobile payment technology rather than waiting for the near field communication technology which is currently not widely available.”