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I don't personally care what they do. If their conscience can live with it, so be it. If they had any talent, they wouldn't be working on that crap.

Elon, how do you find the time to post here while also building rocket ships and high performance electric cars?
 
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Customer information yes, profits no. Merchants don't pay any portion of Apple Pay. The tiny amount, .015% comes out of the bank/credit card issuer's portion.
Merchants don't pay Apple to use Apple Pay, but supporting Apple Pay still costs them money, since it may require updating their point-of-sale setup, adding decals, training staff, updating advertising materials and their website, and so on. See About Apple Pay for merchants for some of the details.
 
Oh no! QR codes must disappear from the face of the earth, and then that is exactly what they use... :eek:
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Oh dear lord, why do these companies insist on learning the hard way.
It’s due to slow reasoning and out of touchness with the nowadays vibe of minimalist effectiveness. They think: smart phone: do many things with your phone: go to an app, then this and then that... genius! They prolly still use a paper map when driving off on a weekend trip. Not out of nostalgia, but since they might think that following computized itineries will make you dumb...
 
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Merchants don't pay Apple to use Apple Pay, but supporting Apple Pay still costs them money, since it may require updating their point-of-sale setup, adding decals, training staff, updating advertising materials and their website, and so on. See About Apple Pay for merchants for some of the details.

Decals are free from Apple. There’s no agreement with Apple required to support Apple Pay though. If the POS terminals already support NFC it’s just a matter of enabling it. There isn’t really any staff training needed for that beyond maybe a 60 second overview.

But yes, if the terminals need to be upgraded that is a cost. However most of these terminals were already upgraded to support chip cards a few years ago when it was mandated and the vast majority of those upgraded readers support NFC.
 
My guess is they started the process 3 years ago or more and just got it out. Late and now too late. I doubt they just decided in the past month or so to make an app. I’m not planning to use it.
 
We have KingSoopers here, which is a chain owned by Kroger’s. For whatever reason they use Samsung Pay here but no Apple Pay or Android Pay.

You can already order your groceries in advance and pick them up at the curb or have them delivered but the app has no way to store your CC info. Same issue with Scan, Bag, Go. You still have pull out a CC to pay for your groceries. I don’t understand why it couldn’t just link to your Apple Pay or Android Pay on your phone? Seems stupid to create a qr based pay app, when the current KingSooper app already tracks your visits and is linked to your loyalty card.

I asked how many people used Samsung Pay? The cashier said almost no one because everyone uses Apple or Android Pay..oh the irony
 
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Two clicks on home button versus launching an app, authorizing and showing it to a cashier.
This won't last a year.
A lot of people have an Apple Watch, where it works even quicker. I still have to pull my phone out of my pocket. With a separate app I don't see why I would use that versus my contactless debit card.
 
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What’s sad is in Birmingham we had a chain called Western Supermarket that took Apple Pay but they just sold out to Publix and a new GreenWise store will be built that doesn’t take Apple Pay.
 
Kroger's Fred Meyers are big in my area, but I will continue to do most of my shopping at Safeway and elsewhere as a protest vote against Kroger and their stubborn mobile payments stance.
 
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We have KingSoopers here, which is a chain owned by Kroger’s. For whatever reason they use Samsung Pay here but no Apple Pay or Android Pay.

You can already order your groceries in advance and pick them up at the curb or have them delivered but the app has no way to store your CC info. Same issue with Scan, Bag, Go. You still have pull out a CC to pay for your groceries. I don’t understand why it couldn’t just link to your Apple Pay or Android Pay on your phone? Seems stupid to create a qr based pay app, when the current KingSooper app already tracks your visits and is linked to your loyalty card.

I asked how many people used Samsung Pay? The cashier said almost no one because everyone uses Apple or Android Pay..oh the irony
To add your credit card login to the main Kroger site. You add payment methods there. Once you go back to the Scan Bag Go it will provide you an option for payment method so you can elect your card and pay.

That said, I stopped. using the app and the scanner in the store and let someone scan for me. I realized I was not only paying for my groceries I was doing all the work too. If they want to pay me for my shopping time I will scan for them but otherwise they can do it.
 
This is sad the two places I shop the most (three if you include the occasional Publix visit) Kroger and Walmart don't support Apple Pay.

In GA (Atlanta area at least) there are next to no options besides these three. SMDH!!!

For the record I use my Apple watch for Apple Pay exclusively.
 
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Kroger in SoCal is called Ralphs. The other competition in the area, Vons (Safeway elsewhere) also does not accept Apple Pay. It's plain dumb. I've assisted clients setup their CC terminals (at hotels) and NFC and Apple Pay "just work". Not sure why Kroger thinks it's so hard to make work. Are they sticking their nose up to it because Apple charges more than a normal CC processing company?

Yes, Vons does support Apple Pay. I’ve had issues where it wasn’t working properly, but they do accept it, and it works the majority of the time for me.

Nobody wants a separate payment system for every damn store they visit. This is maddening. Fortunately I can now shop at Hy-Vee and Target with Apple Pay instead. This past weekend my wife needed to run to Hy-Vee and forgot her wallet at home. She was able to use her Apple Watch instead of driving back home while they push her cart back to the freezer because she remembered I told her about that a few weeks ago. It’s so handy, I love it.

The dominoes are falling in Apple’s favor now. Enough big companies support Apple Pay that companies will be forced to adopt it as more people come to expect it. Otherwise they will lose a competitive advantage. I’ll often go for a walk on my lunch break only with my Apple Watch, listening to music or podcasts with my AirPods, and then stop by somewhere and pay for lunch with my Watch. It’s really freaking nice and feels futuristic.

I wouldn’t say “nobody wants”. It’s more like ‘not everyone wants’. I would go so far as to say most people don’t care. This is based on the sheer numbers of overstuffed wallets I see at checkout stands filled with credit cards, and key rings loaded with scannable discount member tokens. Large numbers of people seem to have no problem rifling through their stack of credit cards for the right one to use for that retailer, to get the right rewards, etc. and then they flip through their member tags to scan their benefits code. Apple Pay can simplify some of the mechanics of that, but has no way to handle customer loyalty at the moment. So there’s really no incentive for someone to move to that payment system. Yes, Kroger May lose you and me, but they more than make up for it with their rewards addicted customers, who frankly don’t share our ergonomic sensibilities. Right now, for many customers Kroger is giving them all the convenience of Apple Pay, which many probably don’t use anyway, with all the benefits of their customer loyalty discounts, and add to that, simplifying for them the dig through their wallets and purses. It’s a win for them and Kroger.

States are starting to test digital drivers licenses too. I believe Louisiana already has it rolled out to everyone. Your ID/license is/was pretty much the last physical card you would have to carry.
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It’s two factors, honestly. Fear of alienating retailers with further technology changes after the mandated chip card rollout. Plus, fear of alienating consumers by making things more “complicated”.

Both are bogus concerns IMO and they missed a golden opportunity mandating contactless support when chip support was mandated a few years ago when the writing was already on the wall that that was the future.

I would think the current US government would be eager to rollout digital ID like that ... as the people who aren’t set up on it, are likely here illegally. I know the concern is that these kinds of things could be easily faked, but can they really? I mean, “Real ID” is the best they can seemingly do at the moment, and there’s plenty of ways to fake the requirements which are supposed to prove legal residency.
 
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The “real ID” is checked against the virtual one as the first step so why not a digital ID. I’m ready.
 
We have KingSoopers here, which is a chain owned by Kroger’s. For whatever reason they use Samsung Pay here but no Apple Pay or Android Pay.

They take Samsung Pay because it works with their magnetic strip reader. No need for nfc. Actually pretty ingenious. I am surprised that it hasn't taken off more
 
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My guess is they started the process 3 years ago or more and just got it out. Late and now too late. I doubt they just decided in the past month or so to make an app. I’m not planning to use it.
Oh geez, not again!

Some background:
2012: MCX launches CurrentC. Big retailers like Best Buy and Rite Aid sign up and are locked in (and prevented from accepting Apple Pay). CurrentC’s future is bright.
2015: CurrentC is struggling and still isn’t in production. Best Buy and Rite Aid both jump ship.
2016: CurrentC crashes and burns. MCX kills it off.
2017: JPMorgan Chase buys the smouldering ashes of CurrentC from MCX
2017: JPMorgan launches Chase Pay (no prizes for guessing what it’s made of)
2017: Kroger signs up for Chase Pay.
2019: Kroger finally launches Kroger Pay (or whatever they’re calling it now) in 10 stores. KrogerPay’s future is bright...
 
Oh geez, not again!

Some background:
2012: MCX launches CurrentC. Big retailers like Best Buy and Rite Aid sign up and are locked in (and prevented from accepting Apple Pay). CurrentC’s future is bright.
2015: CurrentC is struggling and still isn’t in production. Best Buy and Rite Aid both jump ship.
2016: CurrentC crashes and burns. MCX kills it off.
2017: JPMorgan Chase buys the smouldering ashes of CurrentC from MCX
2017: JPMorgan launches Chase Pay (no prizes for guessing what it’s made of)
2017: Kroger signs up for Chase Pay.
2019: Kroger finally launches Kroger Pay (or whatever they’re calling it now) in 10 stores. KrogerPay’s future is bright...

At least Chase Pay seems to be based on Visa/EMVco's QR code standard from what I can tell. Not that there are all that many places other than Shell, Starbucks and Best Buy that take it where I live, mind you.
 
And the reverse side of the problem are terminals with the NFC icon but it isn't turned on or doesn't work. ... THEN TAKE OFF THE STICKER.

Our local Post Office now has 3 updated self-service kiosks. All have NFC stickers but NFC is apparently not turned on. Why'd they bother?
 
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