Apple Pay Rewards Program to Debut at WWDC

[melgross]

1) From a UK perspective (and everywhere else non-US, for that matter):
Can we just AT LEAST have the vanilla APay please Apple.

2) Rewards idea:
NO MORE LOYALTY CARD CASH PRELOADING.

Walk into Starbucks, open APay on phone, pay FROM MY BANK ACCOUNT (or any other credit/debit card I choose on the fly) with a receipt (optionally) emailed to me, loyalty points get added to by Starbucks account. The end.

This is instead of having to keep loading separate lumps of cash onto the bloody Starbucks card periodically: a pain in the neck! If we have to do that for every loyalty card one might use, effectively we have piles of our own unspent cash spread across all these companies accounts, nicely earning THEM interest and NOT us. And not being able to use cash in one place for another use, either. Sucky.

Thanks Apple for doing this... you ARE doing this, aren't you Apple...?

Starbucks did announce something a few weeks past about a new way of paying into the app that's a lot easier than the way we do it now. Since I've got about $40 in there, I didn't pay attention to what it was, but as that runs down in a couple of weeks, I'll look.

 

[RedOrchestra]

Passbook has next to no developer support though.

Passbook is a bust and still waiting for more of "my" stores to take Apple Pay - and frankly, for all the hoopla, haven't seen that many using it either, unless they're all doing McDonald's drive-thru.

 

[talmy]

Not good. A great feature of Apple Pay is that the merchant doesn't get your ID (and therefore cannot delude you with advertising). Put the reward program in place and the merchants know who I am.

 

[melgross]

Passbook is a bust and still waiting for more of "my" stores to take Apple Pay - and frankly, for all the hoopla, haven't seen that many using it either, unless they're all doing McDonald's drive-thru.

Since I buy most things online, I don't really have the need to go into a lot of stores. So that's why I just used it last week. But as more retailers get this, I'll find reasons to use it. It's really when small retailers move to it that we'll see it take off. For example, there's a really great bakery store I buy from every Friday morning when my friends come over. If they had NFC, I'd use it. If restaurants had NFC, I'd use it. If the NYC subway allowed it, I'd use it, etc.

So we're waiting for this to happen. It's just not all there yet.

 

[jimthing]

Starbucks did announce something a few weeks past about a new way of paying into the app that's a lot easier than the way we do it now. Since I've got about $40 in there, I didn't pay attention to what it was, but as that runs down in a couple of weeks, I'll look.

Good to know, thanks – although I bet it's a US-only thing for months or years before the rest of us might (if we pray to the right deity!) get it in our territory.

 

[TechRemarker]

Businesses like rewards programs not because it will incentivize customers to come back in most cases, but rather a way to track their purchases tied to an individual user. ApplePay won't allow that type of tracking so businesses still won't be happy that they can't invade customers privacy.

 

[melgross]

Not good. A great feature of Apple Pay is that the merchant doesn't get your ID (and therefore cannot delude you with advertising). Put the reward program in place and the merchants know who I am.

A loyalty program is something you opt into. If you decide to do it, then you know you're giving them some information. That's the way it works. How can they give points, or discounts, based on total dollar purchases, to other advantages, if they don't know who you are, and what you've bought there? But it still doesn't give them your credit card info upon a purchase, and that info isn't in the loyalty program either, so you're protected in that, still.

If it still makes you nervous, then don't use a loyalty program at all.

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Good to know, thanks – although I bet it's a US-only thing for months or years before the rest of us might (if we pray to the right deity!) get it in our territory.

Sorry about that. But the rules and regulations vary between country, so it's hard for a company to do it all at once.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Interesting, I've had Apple Pay fo over 5 months but have yet to use it. If it would cover my 20g/mo iCloud charge (0.99/mo x 2 lines) I might be more inclined to try it out.

Try it out because it saves you time. That alone is enough reason to use it.

 

[imaginex20]

Apple is going to allow third party developers access to NFC integration with Passbook, so you'll be able to tap and pay with rewards.

 

[samcraig]

Businesses like rewards programs not because it will incentivize customers to come back in most cases, but rather a way to track their purchases tied to an individual user. ApplePay won't allow that type of tracking so businesses still won't be happy that they can't invade customers privacy.

Except it's not an invasion of privacy if you agree to use the service. And You have it a bit wrong. Business like to track their customer's behaviors so they can better communicate to them - whether it's an offer, similar products, etc. It's cyclical - and not just about the tracking or just about incentivizing.

And from a consumer perspective, it's actually a better experience. I would much rather have ads, offers, emails, etc ONLY sent to me based on my purchase history, geography, weather, etc than constantly seeing/being bombarded with ads that have ZERO relevance to me.

But maybe you're different. Maybe you like spam and useless ads.

 

[Col4bin]

No it's not. Look, there are between 12-15 million points of sale in the USA. When the iPhone 6, and Apple Pay first came out, only 220 thousand had NFC terminals. Earlier this month, during the financial call, Cook stated that the number was up to 700 thousand. That's a pretty big jump.

By the end of the year, it's expected to be at 1.2 million, maybe more. It will take years before the transition is mostly done, and there will always be small businesses in out of the way places that won't accept it, until it's well used everywhere else.

So sure, we can call what Walmart is doing greed, if making more profit. And cutting out the middleman is considered to be greed.

But look, to be fair, a company's loyalty is to itself. It's supposed to come up with ways to maximize profits. So I have nothing against what they are doing. We can see that companies affiliated with the program are allowed to also accept other payment systems after a certain time, and that time seems to have come up for a number of Current C members.

So nothing lost.

Sure, but when 2/3rds of all Apple Pay users are having issues at checkout, it's not exactly a ringing endorsement for using Apple's system. That lofty 1.2m+ POS partners might be a stretch if people aren't using it either. Not exactly sure who or what's to blame for these problems to date, but Apple Pay seemingly has a long way to go before gaining any traction with the mainstream public.

https://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/31/apple-pay-checkout-problems/

 

[dagamer34]

I want Apple Pay 2.0 to kill the paper receipt. So freaking wasteful. I just want it e-mailed to be so there's zero chance I lose it.

 

[VillainInBlack]

No it's not. Look, there are between 12-15 million points of sale in the USA. When the iPhone 6, and Apple Pay first came out, only 220 thousand had NFC terminals. Earlier this month, during the financial call, Cook stated that the number was up to 700 thousand. That's a pretty big jump.

By the end of the year, it's expected to be at 1.2 million, maybe more. It will take years before the transition is mostly done, and there will always be small businesses in out of the way places that won't accept it, until it's well used everywhere else.

So sure, we can call what Walmart is doing greed, if making more profit. And cutting out the middleman is considered to be greed.

But look, to be fair, a company's loyalty is to itself. It's supposed to come up with ways to maximize profits. So I have nothing against what they are doing. We can see that companies affiliated with the program are allowed to also accept other payment systems after a certain time, and that time seems to have come up for a number of Current C members.

So nothing lost.

The U.S. EMV rollout and transfer of liability is looming so Retailers are scrambling to upgrade their payment terminals by the deadline and in most cases this is the opportunity to include NFC support.

Next year this time it will be interesting where AP has positioned in the market place. Entirely possible to see expansion outside the U.S. as well. Will be interesting.

 

[laurim]

I would be happy with credits for iTunes. That way, there's still no sharing my purchasing data with merchants. I enjoy using Pay so they really don't have to bribe me to use it. Wish it worked everywhere.

 

[Rigby]

Hopefully it will be possible to opt-out. I don't like loyalty programs. You pay for the "rewards" by giving up your privacy and allowing the retailer to profile you for marketing purposes.

If you want rewards, just register a cash back or reward credit card in Apple Pay ...

 

[CalWizrd]

Sure, but when 2/3rds of all Apple Pay users are having issues at checkout, it's not exactly a ringing endorsement for using Apple's system. That lofty 1.2m+ POS partners might be a stretch if people aren't using it either. Not exactly sure who or what's to blame for these problems to date, but Apple Pay seemingly has a long way to go before gaining any traction with the mainstream public.

https://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/31/apple-pay-checkout-problems/

I read the article you linked to, and either I'm extremely lucky or their survey just happened to hit a disproportionately bad (and small) sample.

I routinely use ApplePay in a local Walgreens, a gourmet grocery store and NYC taxis. Not a single failure out of at least 100 uses. Not a single one.

It's a really convenient and time saving way to pay. I'd truly miss it if it ever went away.

 

[JonneyGee]

I've got nothing against a reward system and it will be a welcome addition, but it's not going to make me use Apple Pay more. I already use it whenever I can. The limiting factor is the stores that accept it.

 

[gsmornot]

I've got nothing against a reward system and it will be a welcome addition, but it's not going to make me use Apple Pay more. I already use it whenever I can. The limiting factor is the stores that accept it.

True that. I try to shop at the stores that will take it, why not work a little bit to shop and pay in the most secure way possible. Those that say they don't use it because it's not easier, well you're right in some ways but it is more secure. I find it to be easier but most people take time to adopt a new way of doing things. Just today my father-in-law finally sent a photo in a text message. That's like the first time he has done that and it was a big deal. He has ApplePay setup because I did it but I don't think he has used it yet. We will all get there.

One thing I have been doing as I use the service is taking questions from people and having the patience to answer questions they have about the system. I feel the more people that know and the more that are comfortable with it the more places will feel they need to get it working to please the shoppers. It's really fun to have on sleeves, double click the button on my watch, pay and move on and all anyone could see was my hand was near the terminal. Some ask how (cashier mostly) and some just look at me and smile. Some are too afraid to ask anything so they just stand there.

Anyhow, any advance here is a good thing. Like quoted, the only thing holding it back is places its available.

 

[ghostface147]

Loyalty programs would be awesome. Still some holdouts in NFC. Most fast food joints, regular restaurants, Lowe's, CVS, Wal-mart, mom and pop shops...just too many are still holdouts and there may be some places that will never incorporate NFC. They may do chip and pin, but not NFC.

 

[palmerc]

Not Chip & PIN

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]

Image​

Apple plans to introduce a new rewards program for Apple Pay at WWDC next month, reports The New York Times. In a piece covering upcoming mobile payment upgrades from Apple and Google, the site suggests that Apple will announce details about enhancements to Apple Pay at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

Few details are known about the rewards program that Apple plans to implement, but it is said to offer "perks" to customers who make purchases using Apple Pay.There have been rumors about a rewards program for Apple Pay since before Apple Pay launched in October of 2014. In September, a report suggested Apple was working on a pilot program that could see it partnering with multiple third-party retailers to form an Apple Pay loyalty program.

Further rumors suggested the system could tie into iAd, delivering targeted ads to consumers via iBeacons and Bluetooth LE with coupons for free or discounted products, but it is not clear if that's how Apple's finished rewards program will work.

Upcoming Apple Pay competitor CurrentC offers a built-in rewards program that's able to incorporate loyalty cards and discounts for individual merchants, and CurrentC executives tout this as one of the major differentiating features of its system. With its own rewards program, Apple Pay will be better situated to compete with the reward-based features of CurrentC.

It is not known if Apple has plans to introduce additional Apple Pay features at its Worldwide Developers Conference, but it's possible that it could share details on an expansion of the service to additional countries like Canada. Canada is expected to be one of the first countries beyond the United States to gain Apple Pay support.

Article Link: Apple Pay Rewards Program to Debut at WWDC

Read any reporting on this and you'll find that the U.S. Is implementing Chip & Signature NOT Chip & PIN. The system is just an improvement to prevent stealing the card data at the terminal and doesn't prevent a stolen card from being used. These cards will still be unusable in large parts of Europe.

 

[Kaibelf]

Congrats, but you unfortunately are one of the few actually using Apple Pay. Wish I had vending machines (I'm hungry).

I guess the dozens of people I work with who use Apple
Pay at the local grocery store to buy lunch almost every day are the exception? And this is in suburban Illinois.

 

[reevans]

Apple Pay in Canada

I still don't get the wait for Canadian banks to get it together and accept Apple Pay.

 

[sessamoid]

I read the article you linked to, and either I'm extremely lucky or their survey just happened to hit a disproportionately bad (and small) sample.

I routinely use ApplePay in a local Walgreens, a gourmet grocery store and NYC taxis. Not a single failure out of at least 100 uses. Not a single one.

It's a really convenient and time saving way to pay. I'd truly miss it if it ever went away.

The survey was biased to produce a negative result with the way it was phrased. It asked all user if they had EVER encountered any problem in any transaction with  Pay.

If you ask that same question about credit cards, you'll find that 100% of people are "having problems" with using credit cards for paying for stuff, therefore credits cards are obviously "doomed".

I use it at one of the grocery stores near us, and another just added contactless payment recently. Walgreens is my pharmacy and has been for years. Never pay with anything else there now. While I was traveling in London recently, I rarely needed cash as the city (maybe the whole country?) is much further along in a contactless payment rollout in its retail sector than the US. I used  Pay for almost everything in London.

 

[thelookingglass]

Holy *****, we're STILL talking about CurrentC? Does anyone think that dinosaur will still exist in another 1-2 years? Amazing.

For those saying Apple Pay is a bust, I'd argue the exact opposite. considering the inertia required to get anything new off the ground and the fact that other competing factions have their own technologies, I'd say it's doing really really well.

 

[laurim]

Read any reporting on this and you'll find that the U.S. Is implementing Chip & Signature NOT Chip & PIN. The system is just an improvement to prevent stealing the card data at the terminal and doesn't prevent a stolen card from being used. These cards will still be unusable in large parts of Europe.

This is true. Although I got a new chipped Discover card and the rep told me if I assigned a PIN to it, it would work like a European chip and pin card at vending machines to buy train tickets. I haven't tried it yet, though. Was pretty annoyed that my BofA chip card that has no foreign transaction fees still wouldn't work in a european train ticket machine