this is my first reaction too. I don't see how this makes it easier for the consumer. I don't especially want to type my user name and password into one of those terminals.
Pay by name uses the GPS in your phone so that when you walk into Starbucks, your face and name appear on the cash register. Walk into a Starbucks in a distant city:
Customer: "cappucino please"
employee: "Paul, right?"
customer: "yes"
employee: "decaf and skim, as usual?"
customer: "yes, thanks"
employee: "ok, you've paid by square"
The partnership didn't mention pay by name, but I can't imagine the partnership is really meaningful without it. This could spur widespread adoption of pay by name. When people start doing this at Starbucks, it will quickly seem like a normal way to pay, and using a card may start to seem clunky.
I guarantee that typing in a PayPal account number is hella clunky, and NFC little better. Do I reall want to unlock my phone to buy coffee?
