Best Buy Rolling Out In-Store Apple Pay Support in U.S.

[nia820]

People actually shop at Worst Buy?
Why?

I was thinking the same thing. The last time I went to Best Buy was about 6 years ago.

 

[rdlink]

I don't particularly like Best Buy either. As a 'smart consumer' - I dislike the employees, who all think they know more than you, but don't. Their recommendations are horrible.

But those who don't know anything about tech, where else would you go to shop to get information? This is where Best Buy wins. It's for the grandmother who wants to get a laptop, but no clue what to get. Today, all she can choose from is the Apple Store and Best Buy. There are no other retailers out there. Target and Walmart sell some things, but you need to do your research first, their employees won't help.

But there are reasons people like me shop there - price. I wait for sales, and find products that are at or cheaper than the Amazon price (they'll match the Amazon price and you get what you want right away), or when I need something quickly, like a last-minute birthday or Christmas gift. Or to actually touch and feel something like a Samsung watch.

But normally, I wouldn't shop there.

My emphasis added to your quote. This is the main problem I have with BB. It's when people I know who aren't tech savvy go in there, and get stuck buying something they shouldn't have bought because of the borderline predatory behavior that their salespeople are taught. I agree that most of their employees are clueless. But I also believe that there is a culture at BB to prey on consumers' lack of technical sophistication.

I could cite many examples, but I remember one in particular. I was in a BB one day when the salesperson was trying to get an older couple to buy the "Apple certified" external USB drive. The husband asked the clerk, while I was in earshot why he needed to buy that, more expensive one when there were a whole wall of them across the room in the PC section that were considerably cheaper. The clerk started to spout some nonsensical garbage designed to baffle the man, and make his eyes glaze over. I stepped up and told him flat out that he didn't, in fact have to buy the special drive, and that he could buy any of the ones in the PC section. The clerk walked off, having lost his more expensive sale.

 

[w00master]

Great news with this, once Kroger, Target and some gas station chain (I know Exxon is doing it, but my next door station still doesn't have NFC), then literally 90% of my regular purchasing needs will be covered by Apple Pay.

Come on Kroger and Target!!!

 

[uwdude]

I still don't understand why Walmart is stubbornly refusing to accept NFC at all. That's all they would have to do is turn on the NFC on the terminals. Boy they really want that customer data badly don't they. I think it is a small extra charge to have the terminals accept NFC but it's pocket change, shouldn't make a difference.

 

[w00master]

I still don't understand why Walmart is stubbornly refusing to accept NFC at all. That's all they would have to do is turn on the NFC on the terminals. Boy they really want that customer data badly don't they. I think it is a small extra charge to have the terminals accept NFC but it's pocket change, shouldn't make a difference.

I think it's because Walmart led the MCX effort. I have a feeling Wal-mart will be among the last that switches over.

 

[jimbobb24]

Now they just need to support the Best Buy credit card in Apple Pay

They don't? They switched to Visa for me so I guess that means still no Apple Pay if they are not supporting.

 

[jimbobb24]

I still don't understand why Walmart is stubbornly refusing to accept NFC at all. That's all they would have to do is turn on the NFC on the terminals. Boy they really want that customer data badly don't they. I think it is a small extra charge to have the terminals accept NFC but it's pocket change, shouldn't make a difference.

When Walmart finally comes on line and (I just learned) Best Buy allows their credit card to be used then I will be able to almost 100% Apple Pay. Thats pretty awesome.

 

[jimbobb24]

People actually shop at Worst Buy?
Why?

I like actually seeing the products, getting them now. And occasionally pretty good deals. Just one more option. Plus they give me about $300 of free best buy money a year so I have been seduced into being a loyal customer.

 

[tmiw]

I wouldn't go that far. There are advantages to using cash, such as the feeling you get when you spend it, knowing that something is leaving your hands. I agree with your debit card benefits, but the tangible loss of paying for something is real, and goes to the psychology of purchasing.

Also, when traveling in Canada, my debit card issuer (they just got Apple Pay 2 days ago) told us that we had to forgo all of the protections that we had (that you mention) to use it there (no chip on card), and Mrs. thequik and I decided that $200 CDN risk was better than forgoing all the benefits that you mention.

There's a reason people say, "Cash is king"

Your bank/CU doesn't sound all that great if they said that. From my understanding all the protections should apply regardless of where you use the card.

 

[Marrakas]

I'm hoping for my Driver's License to be in my iPhone Wallet, but I think there are a ton of issues with that.

OK, after reading that, maybe not...

In the future maybe. For now I just leave it in my car, unless I specifically need it as ID.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Now if you were able to get the double points, that will even better

Not gonna happen. Still, 10% back on all purchases through the end of the year is bigger than most other cards are offering. Means I'll get $200 off a MacBook Pro from the Apple store, on top of the employee discount.

 

[aajeevlin]

Not gonna happen. Still, 10% back on all purchases through the end of the year is bigger than most other cards are offering. Means I'll get $200 off a MacBook Pro from the Apple store, on top of the employee discount.

You do actually, it's been talked about for days over at Slickdeals. You get 10% from using Apple Pay at BM (in this case Bestbuy), Discover will double your cash back, so you are looking at 20%.

 

[avanpelt]

People actually shop at Worst Buy?
Why?

Last year, I was in the market for a new MacBook Pro when my early-2011 suddenly kicked the bucket and I needed a replacement pronto. I went to the Apple Store first.

Just before I bought the mid-2014 MacBook Pro from the Apple Store, I opened the Best Buy app on my iPhone and saw that the Best Buy across the street had the exact same model with identical specs on sale for $125.00 less than the Apple Store. I left the Apple Store, ordered the computer from the Best Buy app, went across the street to Best Buy, and picked it up within 30 minutes.

I'll gladly shop at Best Buy when I can save some cash.

 

[DirtySocks85]

People actually shop at Worst Buy?
Why?

Because they price match these days and I don't have to wait for shipping. I don't shop there often, but if I need something same day, they're often my best choice.

 

[cardfan]

People actually shop at Worst Buy?
Why?

You could say the same about Apple store. Support? Sure. Browse around? Why not? Shop? Nope. The only way I shop in an Apple Store is if I need something that only they carry.

 

[Chase R]

Even my local hole-in-the-wall subway down the street supports apple pay. Kind of surprising some of the bigger retailers are taking so long to support it. From what I can tell, there is no special setup required, just needs to be able to support NFC chip cards right? I get the "whoa I had no idea you could even do that!" reaction all the time at stores with NFC card terminals.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Even my local hole-in-the-wall subway down the street supports apple pay. Kind of surprising some of the bigger retailers are taking so long to support it. From what I can tell, there is no special setup required, just needs to be able to support NFC chip cards right? I get the "whoa I had no idea you could even do that!" reaction all the time at stores with NFC card terminals.

Ditto... The training of the people, I think, is word of mouth than actual training.

 

[JayIsAwesome]

I don't particularly like Best Buy either. As a 'smart consumer' - I dislike the employees, who all think they know more than you, but don't. Their recommendations are horrible.

And in the same breath, I dislike the customers who think they know more than the people who work there. Had one person try to argue that the Apple Watch had a camera on it.

 

[skemez1]

Ugh... Why do these companies insist on continuing to require a pin?

 

[bbeagle]

And in the same breath, I dislike the customers who think they know more than the people who work there. Had one person try to argue that the Apple Watch had a camera on it.

And then I'm the 40-something guy who comes in and have these 18-year old 'kids' tell me how computers work. Guess what? I was there at the START of the industry, made my own computers. Work in Software. And you think because I'm older, I'm clueless with technology, and tell me that my equipment won't work with Monster Cables? Or don't understand a TiVo, and tell me that you can't replace it's hard drive, or some other stuff I KNOW about?

 

[Good User Name]

What bugs me about Apple pay still is that some terminals make you enter a pin and some make you sign. Isn't that the point of my finger print...

This is actually an artifact of old POS machines. As Apple explains on its site about Apple Pay:

When I’m paying in a store using my debit card in Apple Pay, should I choose Credit or Debit on the terminal?
If you see this choice, we recommend that you choose Credit to get the most consistent Apple Pay experience. Choosing Debit might not always work successfully with some older merchant payment terminals and backend systems.

This will change in time when merchants buy better/newer machines. Signatures are another artifact of old systems or improper setups. From their merchant page:

Will customers have to sign a receipt when paying with Apple Pay?
As they do today with a plastic credit or debit card, they might need to sign a receipt, depending on the store and the transaction amount.

To accept Apple Pay without the need for signature at any amount, your payment terminal must be capable and configured properly, and your payment provider needs to support the latest network contactless specifications. Share the consumer device cardmember verification white paper with your payment provider and ask them how you can allow your customers to use Apple Pay without needing to sign.

 

[Buran]

A lot of people who wonder why NFC is a big deal miss the tokenised aspect of NFC devices like phones. The one-time code and the device account number combine to make the payment information useless if stolen.

Given the rampant theft of payment information (how many times have we had our cards replaced, causing huge hassles and lots of time to be wasted and the banks to have to pay for all those replacement cards?), I'd rather play it safe. It's not just "Neat, I don't need to carry a wallet!" or "I can pay with my watch or phone!" -- it's about being safe.

Best Buy also isn't new to NFC. They accepted it several years ago -- I remember seeing the logos on the payment terminals. Then they turned it off. They're getting more credit than I think they really deserve for undoing a mistake they made. They showed they cared more about collecting customers' information than they did about keeping that information safe during system breaches. (No business wants to believe they're vulnerable, but all of them are. There's no way to be 100% safe).

As a result, I have not shopped there since NFC went away since the EMV "dip" slots are also inactive in their terminals. I may give them another chance once NFC and/or EMV are available at my local store.

 

[crisss1205]

You are correct! When is the official rollout supposed to be? When will EMV contactless be enabled?

The official rollout it now. It is a staged rollout so not every store will get it at once. There is a release schedule that finishes at the end of September.

This update to the POS system will enable Apple Pay, Android Pay, Contactless, and Chipped Cards (EMV).

Just today it rolled out to another 130+ stores in Michigan, Tennessee, Indiana, and Illinois.

 

[crisss1205]

My emphasis added to your quote. This is the main problem I have with BB. It's when people I know who aren't tech savvy go in there, and get stuck buying something they shouldn't have bought because of the borderline predatory behavior that their salespeople are taught. I agree that most of their employees are clueless. But I also believe that there is a culture at BB to prey on consumers' lack of technical sophistication.

I could cite many examples, but I remember one in particular. I was in a BB one day when the salesperson was trying to get an older couple to buy the "Apple certified" external USB drive. The husband asked the clerk, while I was in earshot why he needed to buy that, more expensive one when there were a whole wall of them across the room in the PC section that were considerably cheaper. The clerk started to spout some nonsensical garbage designed to baffle the man, and make his eyes glaze over. I stepped up and told him flat out that he didn't, in fact have to buy the special drive, and that he could buy any of the ones in the PC section. The clerk walked off, having lost his more expensive sale.

It really depends on the store. Best Buy associates do not work off commission so a more expensive sale doesn't matter.

 

[xmichaelp]

Android Pay?