Apple Pay Overtakes Starbucks as Most Popular Mobile Payment Platform in the US

[tmiw]

It’s never done in practice, though. What they always do is simply turn off the contactless readers and block every single form of contactless payment. Like Walmart did. Plus the original question was whether they could choose a specific mobile wallet and block it, which they can’t. They may be technincally able to distinguish between contactless cards and other contactless payments, but that’s it. They can’t, say, specifically block Google Pay and still allow Apple Pay.

Agreed. However, blocking all mobile wallets may be enough if you're assuming that a lot fewer people are using Google or Samsung Pay vs. Apple Pay. If nothing else, the latter has way more mindshare than the former two (hence why contactless is known more as Apple Pay here than anything else).

 

[MacGizmo]

What do you mean by accept Apple Pay? If you mean paying your purchases by touching the POS terminal with your phone, you can always do it, as long as the POS terminal accepts NFC payments of any type, which is a standard now. I live in Madrid, Spain and have been using it for year or so for virtually all physicial purchases that accept credit/debti card payment. Usually the POS terminal is compatible with NFC, and therefore Apple Pay payment are autorized as usual. Maybe Im missing something.

Yes. You're missing the fact that the US is decades behind the rest of the world in virtually everything. 😂

Most businesses in the US still haven't even updated to accept contactless payments. Heck, a very high amount of them still can't accept chip cards... you still have to swipe a card.

And just because a business has a terminal has a contactless payment set up does NOT mean it will accept Apple Pay. There is a bit of back-end software that needs to be active in order for it to work. It always comes down to money. If businesses have to spend money, they're not likely to adopt anything new. So the larger the company, the less likely they are to spend money. This is why so many small mom & pop companies accept Apple Pay (and other contactless payments) vs. large companies.

 

[Ntombi]

I just don't understand how they come up with the 70% of retailers statistic. I live in Phoenix, AZ (USA), one of the largest cities in the country... Apple Pay is nowhere to be found, in comparison to places that don't have it. Yeah, McDonald's, Whole Foods, Starbucks, random other coffee shops. That's about it. No gas stations, no grocery stores (beyond Whole Foods), no Walmart, no Target, very few stores in malls.

Thank god BevMo accepts Apple Pay, or I would have to move!

Really? That’s exactly the opposite of my experience.

I’m in a large city in SoCal, and pretty much everywhere I shop accepts NFC payments. The only places that don’t are Costco Gas Station (in the works) and a few restaurants (mid-range and above). I’m perfectly comfortable leaving my house with just my Apple Watch and one emergency credit card.

Are you sure Target doesn’t accept it? All of ours do, as of maybe a year ago. So do most gas stations, at the pump. All three of the supermarkets I frequent take it, including the Asian market I go to every few months.

Oh, my dog’s groomer doesn’t take it either. I forgot, because my card is on file with them.

I went to a charity event with tons of vendors in LA last weekend, and all of them took Apple Pay too. I bought at several stalls, had a few drinks, and didn’t take out cash or my credit card until we went out to eat afterwards.

 

[tmiw]

Really? That’s exactly the opposite of my experience.

I’m in a large city in SoCal, and pretty much everywhere I shop accepts NFC payments. The only places that don’t are Costco Gas Station (in the works) and a few restaurants (mid-range and above). I’m perfectly comfortable leaving my house with just my Apple Watch and one emergency credit card.

Are you sure Target doesn’t accept it? All of ours do, as of maybe a year ago. So do most gas stations, at the pump. All three of the supermarkets I frequent take it, including the Asian market I go to every few months.

Oh, my dog’s groomer doesn’t take it either. I forgot, because my card is on file with them.

I went to a charity event with tons of vendors in LA last weekend, and all of them took Apple Pay too. I bought at several stalls, had a few drinks, and didn’t take out cash or my credit card until we went out to eat afterwards.

Costco definitely takes it except at the gas pumps (and if you try using a MC debit card instead of a Visa).

 

[Ntombi]

Costco definitely takes it except at the gas pumps (and if you try using a MC debit card instead of a Visa).

Yep. I specified the gas station, precisely because I’m so happy that they take it in-store now.

They are moving towards accepting NFC payments at the pumps. At ours, they have the tech, it’s just not turned on yet. I try every time!

 

[deeddawg]

Costco definitely takes it except at the gas pumps (and if you try using a MC debit card instead of a Visa).

Yep - I'm pleased to be able to keep my wallet in my pocket inside Costco now that the app has membership card info in it.

Wish they'd add the self-checkout feature Sams has in their app.

I can scan stuff into the app as I shop the store, then "checkout" within the app and completely skip the checkout lanes. Walk right to the door, attendant scans the QR code and one item in the buggy, and out I go.

Edit - reminds me of this old IBM RFID advert:

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Apple needs to convince the sclerotic geezers at Kroger to accept Apple Pay.

AND stop pushing self checkouts on us!

They have cashier lines that are crowded, and add another 8 self checkouts, subtracting even more human checkout lanes. I was just there yesterday, and someone was at the self checkout ringing out a whole basket of stuff, taking A-Long-Time, and so were several other people. I waited in line for a few minutes at a regular lane for the cashier. I HATE self checkout lanes...

So: kill the self checkout 'conversion', and add Apple Pay. I checkout so much quicker at their competitor, and *BING* I'm paid, and headed for the door. No QR codes, no drama. *BING* and gone...

Their 'Kroger cares' program is suffocating local charities as more people seem to be avoiding Krogers. It's the program that is really a great idea, giving a small percentage of the bill to a charity of our choice, but the one that I volunteer at has seen their receipts from Krogers fall over the past year to year and a half.

Their 'war on Apple Pay', and cashiers must pay a part in the decline. *shrug*
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Yep. I specified the gas station, precisely because I’m so happy that they take it in-store now.

They are moving towards accepting NFC payments at the pumps. At ours, they have the tech, it’s just not turned on yet. I try every time!

Speedway installed new pumps at most of their stations around here, and the NFC ports say 'COMING SOON', for over a year! Yeah... Not even breathing hard, let alone breathing at all... And Home Despot, still no Apple Pay...