3 Starbucks coffee shops no longer accepting cash

Three branches of Starbucks Korea have started operating without cash on Monday as part of the American coffee brand’s future-oriented experiment with different payment systems.

The three branches - Pangyo H Square in Pangyo, Gyeonggi, Samseong Station in southern Seoul and Guro Ace in western Seoul - have already been promoting cashless services for the past month to avoid inconveniencing users with the switch.

Customers at the branches will be encouraged to use credit cards, mobile payment systems and Starbucks Cards.

Starbucks Korea says it wants to see what impact cashless payments have on customers through the experiment and will apply the results to the company’s management in the near future.

Across all Starbucks branches nationwide, 7 percent of payments are made with cash, down from a peak of 31 percent in 2010. Starbucks has also been testing the cashless approach at a branch in downtown Seattle since January.

By Seo Ji-eun