Starbucks is likely to utilize blockchain technology as part of a new payments app, executive chairman Howard Shultz said Tuesday.
Speaking with Maria Bartiromo during a Fox Business segment, Schultz discussed the use of a "proprietary digital currency" in conjunction with the payments app. When asked whether the coffee retailer would use blockchain in conjunction with the initiative - as opposed to a more centralized system of accounting - Schultz said that the company "probably" would move in that direction.
"I think blockchain technology is probably the rails in which an integrated app at Starbucks will be sitting on top of," he commented.
His comments come roughly a month after the former chief executive spoke broadly during an earnings call about the chain's plans to utilize the tech, especially on the payments front (although he dismissed the idea that the company would use bitcoin in some way).