Gopago has launched a service that enables mobile subscribers to order and pay in advance in outlets such as coffee shops by using a smartphone app. The service is initially available in San Francisco before rolling out to Chicago, Dallas and New York later this year, says GigaOm. It was previously trialled in Mountain View, California, and Las Vegas.  The Gopago service is available as an app for iOS, Android and BlackBerry.

A subscriber with the app on their smartphone finds a participating business and places an orders and pays immediately on their handset via credit or debit card. The user then receives a digital receipt which they show when they pick up their order. The service could mean quicker service for its users and a way for outlets to reward regular customers.  In addition to coffee shops, other suitable locations for the service include fastfood outlets. If the user is a regular customer in the outlet then are recognised at the start of the transaction and asked if they want their usual order.