[reissbaker]

Er. But unless you've given Starbucks direct access to your bank account, those are fundamentally card-based too.

[thinkcomp]

Not quite. Starbucks uses its own pre-paid system that does use a plastic card, but one without any major network's logo on it. It's just store credit.

[vidarh]

So worse than both cash and cards - suddenly you have to have small balances sitting on multiple proprietary cards. No thanks.

[corin_]

And in America (I believe - last I heard it was rolled out in some American cities but not others, nothing here in the UK) the iPhone/Android/Blackberry(?) apps let you manage your account balance, and you hold up your phone for the cashier to scan the barcode off your screen.