Microsoft Band Can Be Used To Pay For Starbucks Purchases

The Microsoft Band activity tracker arrived with a bang last night, and in addition to its roster of features comes partnerships with several companies. Microsoft detailed these partnerships tonight, most of which are right in line with what someone buying a fitness-centric device would expect. Gold's Gym is on board, for example, providing both guided workouts and a trial gym membership for Band owners. Not all the partners are related to fitness, however, with Starbucks also dishing up goodies for those who nab Microsoft's new wearable.

The Gold's Gym trial membership allows those with proof of purchase to get two weeks for free, though those with an existing membership are obviously excluded. The is joined by Guided Workouts, as Microsoft calls them, which provide Band owners with methods for achieving a variety of fitness goals. The workouts are available for download straight to the band.

Microsoft has also partnered with Jawbone, which it says is working alongside it to integrate the UP platform with the Microsoft Health platform. RunKeeper fans will be happy to know they can link Band with their account to get the best of both worlds. Users are encouraged to link the two, with RunKeeper offering a free month of service to those who do.

MyFitnessPal is similarly on board, able to sync with Band to track nutritional data. In the near future support will also be extended to Under Armour brands, including MapMyFitness. And rounding it all out is that aforementioned Starbucks partnership, which allows Band owners to pay for their purchases using the wearable. This is achieved by pairing a Starbucks Card with Band and enabling payments, with Microsoft saying "simply tap the Starbucks tile on your Microsoft Band device and hold your wrist to the barcode scanner to complete your payment."

SOURCE: Microsoft