Starbucks currently holds roughly one point six billion dollars in unredeemed customer gift card balances, effectively making the coffee chain a larger financial institution than thousands of actual regional banks.

A closer look

Starbucks currently holds roughly one point six billion dollars in unredeemed customer gift card balances, effectively making the coffee chain a larger financial institution than thousands of actual regional banks. Customers willingly hand over their hard-earned fiat currency in exchange for digital loyalty points that yield absolutely zero interest and can only be used to purchase overpriced, sugary beverages. Economists refer to this unspent money as breakage, which is a polite corporate term for free cash they keep because you forgot your app balance. It is a spectacular grift where millions of consumers provide massive, interest-free loans to a global conglomerate just so they can occasionally feel productive while working on a screenplay at a tiny wooden table. Traditional banking requires strict regulations and federal oversight, but apparently, you can bypass all that nonsense if you just promise people a seasonal pumpkin spice latte