Around 7,000 Starbucks stores are now accepting payments made from customers in the US using Square’s mobile payments app on their smartphone, in line withthe strategic allianceannounced by the two companies in August.

Users equipped with the Square Wallet can pay at Starbucks as well as use their smartphone to explore other businesses nearby, browse menu information and view their transaction history.

Square of course is more associated with offering a dongle which small businesses use to process payments on their smartphones and tablets.

The deal with Starbucks several months ago is part of a move by Square to broaden its range of services and an attempt to shift beyond working only with small businesses.

Interestingly Starbucks already has its own popular payments app which its customers use more than two million times a week, it says.

Both Square and Starbucks’ in-house apps rely on a barcode displayed on the smartphone screen being scanned by a cashier with a reader, in order to make a transaction. However Square has plans to speed up the authentication process for regular customers by sing GPS technology.