Soon, Starbucks lattes and KFC fried chicken will just be a tap away with Apple Pay. Apple is rolling out its mobile-payments service for select Starbucks stores by the end of the year, and will reach 7,500 company-owned stores in 2016, the coffee chain said in a statement. KFC stores and Chili's Grill & Bar will make Apple Pay available in next year as well, Jennifer Bailey, the Apple vice president in charge of the service, said at the Code/Mobile conference Thursday.

Wider adoption should give Apple Pay a much-needed boost. Lack of acceptance at various retail stores has been partly to blame for the slow rollout of the payment service. A year since its debut, it only accounts for 1 percent of all retail transactions in the United States, according to research firm Aite Group.

Starbucks' own mobile-payment application has been a success, accounting for 20 percent of transactions at the coffee chain's U.S. stores. Starbucks has said it intends to make all popular payment methods available to customers.

— Bloomberg News