Starbucks, which arguably runs the most popular mobile payment service in the US, is updating its app to work with Apple Pay, although not so that users of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus can make payments in its outlets.

According to 9to5mac, the latest version of the app enables users to top up the balance on their Starbucks Card via Apple Pay. The Apple service handles both digital and physical payments transactions.

The deal means the millions of Starbucks users can reload their accounts from Apple Pay, which could encourage greater take up of the latter’s payment service which is still only a fledgling despite striking a bevy of bank and retail deals since its launch in the autumn.

And users can authorise the top-up via Touch ID, the fingerprint technology on more recent versions of Apple devices.

The Starbucks app has sat inside the Apple’s Passbook wallet app for some time but there’s no indication that the coffee chain wants to allow users with NFC-enabled iPhones to make contactless payments in its stores when its own service, which is based on QR codes, has been so successful.