Starbucks [3] is investing $25 million in Square [4] and plans to deploy its payment system in stores across the U.S., the companies announced [5] today. The alliance will put Square card readers--still a novelty in most parts of the country--within view of millions of Starbucks customers, and introduce them to the Square iPhone and Android apps.

For Starbucks, which prides itself on customer satisfaction [6], it stands to strengthen the bond between barista and buyer. Starbucks will eventually deploy Square's GPS tech to alert a Starbucks store when a customer with the Square app on their phone walks in, bringing up their photo ID and name at the till so that they don't even need to swipe a credit card, the New York Times [7] explains.

As part of the deal, Starbucks president Howard Schulz is joining Square's board.

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