• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, August 8, 2012

Starbucks has struck a partnership with mobile payments startup Square to use its technology to process payments at its 7,000 U.S. stores. The coffee chain already allows customers to use its own branded app to pay for items, but it will now also accept payments from people using the Pay With Square app. Under their agreement, Square will also take over processing debit and credit card transactions for Starbucks.

Given Starbucks' national footprint, the move should help accelerate adoption of mobile payments more widely. In a blog post today, Forrester analyst Denee Carrington called the deal "a significant milestone" for moble payment and digital wallets by raising awareness about these alternative forms of payment. The research firm explored the burgeoning mobile wallet space in a pair of reports released last week.

As part of the deal, the coffee giant is investing $25 million in Square, and Starbucks CEO will join the company's board of directors. Square has raised a total of $166 million to date from investors including Sequoia Capital and Visa. The new funding brings its valuation to $3.25 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Read the full Starbucks release here.