CVS and Rite Aid Officially Disable Apple Pay Support At Stores Nationwide

[mozumder]

We've done business with CVS for many years, and I have 4 kids so we have spent a lot of money with them. We never thought twice about the other two big drugstore chains that seem to litter every corner... Rite Aid and Walgreens. Guess what CVS... we are going to move our business to Walgreens now.

The good part of about all this is that we have choices... we have the choice to use great smartphones with iOS, Android, and Windows. We have a choice of which pharmacy we shop at. These stores have choices too, and they've chosen to take away our choice and force us to use their system designed to gather our data over convenience and security. I'm OK with loyalty cards, because you choose to use them, and I have chosen to do that with CVS. But now if I want to use a secure wireless payment system, they have specifically taken away one that they already have working, just to try and force customers to use their invasive alternative. I will be taking my business elsewhere.

The only way to combat this stuff is by taking your buying elsewhere. If they see Apple customers (and there are a lot of them) all pulling their business, then they will hopefully reconsider.

Guess what? You're still going to buy things at CVS because paying by credit card is fine.

 

[jpmd70]

And these CurrentC merchants want DIRECT ACCESS to my BANK ACCOUNT !!

You can't use a credit card.

 

[mozumder]

Yes, and the implementation of credit cards -- even with chip -- is oh so secure.

The promise of Apple Pay coupled with an iPhone is that there is also a biometric component to the payment. To the best of my knowledge, no other system offers that. It isn't just NFC.

Too bad the extra security doesn't matter.

 

[TomTomHatesCats]

All iPhone users? That's a pretty broad brush you're painting with.

That's certainly not what I meant, so it's fortunate I didn't use that word. I should have specified, "some," although perhaps the original poster meant to say "all," though he didn't specify either.

Apologies for the confusion.

 

[greytmom]

Here's another reason to move to Walgreens...found this cute little guy there yesterday.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

I am sure to that the percentage that Apple collects might have something to do with it and the their new wallet they are going to offer may have a better rate.

No, Apple gets their cut from the banks, not the merchants. CVS and Rite aid pay the same whether they take Apple Pay, Google Wallet or credit cards.

 

[mozumder]

And these CurrentC merchants want DIRECT ACCESS to my BANK ACCOUNT !!

You can't use a credit card.

That's too bad. You'll have to hand over your bank account number then, since they are forcing you to use CurrentC.

If you don't, you will be threatened with a lawsuit with possible jail time. You will have to comply.

 

[Kaibelf]

Since you're not sure ill tell you how. First they post that rite aid is shutting down apple pay then they post that cvs is, and now they have a story combining the two. why make a whole other story when the first two were just fine. I hope that maybe you'll understand now, but if not it won't surprise me. Have a great day

Actually, this story is because the officially released a statement about it. It's right there in the headline if you look really hard.

 

[TomTomHatesCats]

a few people who don't understand anything beyond brand-loyalty doesn't make them 'all iphone users'.

I'm not sure why you quoted the word "all" there when I didn't use the word (nor did I mean to imply it, which I apologize for if that was how it was taken).

Regardless, since your argument has no foundation without that word, I feel it isn't too nitpicky to point it out.

 

[Roller]

I believe all the NFC chicken littles are acting foolish. I am very aware of what has happened and sadly if you have already been using NFC at CVS them I am a truly sorry that you have to go through the trouble of carrying a different card with you. It sucks I know. However NFC is still not the most common way to pay and you were pretty much one of few who did it. I ask cashiers all the time if anyone pays with the terminals and most of them either say no or say what's NFC? You are the minority as of now even with Apple Pay active. I'm no apologist just a realist saying its business as usual get over it. You can still pay ANYWHERE.

I mostly agree with you. I'm interested in Apple Pay as much for security as for convenience. But since I don't have an iPhone 6, I can't use it anyway. Apple Pay will catch on when its supported by a greater percentage of the iPhone user base's devices (including mine), which will take time. At that point I'll have to decide whether to shop at stores that don't support Apple Pay, just as I do with vendors who don't accept my Amex credit card. I tend to favor places that take Amex, but I shop elsewhere if there's no alternative or they're less expensive.

 

[SusanK]

you can't fight apple. just don't even try. anyone who thinks otherwise is just throwing their money and anyone they can convince to believe them away. it is actually irresponsible to even try. example, fitbit vs apple watch, good luck there.

Office v. iWork

 

[Gutwrench]

Guess what? You're still going to buy things at CVS because paying by credit card is fine.

Really? What makes you say that? In my case within 2.5 miles there are three Walgreens and a CVS. I have choices and it's no inconvenience to exercise them. And if I wanted to shop elsewhere, within the same 2.5 miles, there's also a Target, two Walmats, and several grocery markets with pharmacies.

 

[jpmd70]

Here's another reason to move to Walgreens...found this cute little guy there yesterday.

Best Post Ever!

 

[Dorv]

Of course it's a douchey move. It's an appropriately douchey response to a douchey manoeuvre by the company.

And they'll complain to their boss, and they'll complain to their boss, and so forth. This is how things get fixed - from the grassroots level. Enough people do it and there'll be an obvious monetary penalty to the company. Until they're negatively impacted, they won't give a crap about the customer.

You're assuming the middle manager will care.

No, the only way to make a real impact like this is to take your business elsewhere.

 

[zaphon]

I think it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. I would be surprised if Visa/Mastercard don't already have some NFC clause in their merchant agreement with the stores, and if they don't, it will most definitely be there in the renewal. So unless they plan to only accept cash, good luck..

 

[robbyx]

Guess what? You're still going to buy things at CVS because paying by credit card is fine.

No it's not. And that's the point. I'm sick of using credit cards. My cards are frequently turned off and I get fraud alert calls from the bank asking to verify this or that. Two of my cards have been replaced twice this past year because of fraud. Which then means I have to go through all of my automatic payments and change everything. Again.

Apple's system is simple, elegant and far more secure. My only gripe is that my iPhone 5s doesn't support it! The alternative proposed by these moronic retailers requires you to give them access to your checking account for starters. Seriously? And I have to pull out my phone, unlock it, launch an app, and jump through a few more hoops before I can pay? Instead of just putting my finger on TouchID and tapping the NFC reader?

 

[Dorv]

Looks like MacRumors is going to milk this topic dry by posting a dozen overlapping topics - - just like they did when they promoted the fake bending story.

So, like customers agitated in the story at hand, show your frustrations by taking your business elsewhere

 

[octothorpe8]

No surprise here. CVS, RiteAid and all of those drug store chains seem to go out of their way to make everything terrible.

 

[KPandian1]

Once enough annoyed 19-year-olds complain to their management, and enough of those complaints get back to corporate, then maybe it'll work.

They will just fire any minimum wage worker who complains! These are big corporations - not Mom'nPop stores!

 

[Spamail]

Write your message to the opponents of Apple Pay on the pumpkin and tweet it @CVS_Extra & @RiteAid

 

[MDiddy]

Of course it's a douchey move. It's an appropriately douchey response to a douchey manoeuvre by the company.

And they'll complain to their boss, and they'll complain to their boss, and so forth. This is how things get fixed - from the grassroots level. Enough people do it and there'll be an obvious monetary penalty to the company. Until they're negatively impacted, they won't give a crap about the customer.

No its just a douchey move on your part. No one else. The clerk has no influence on corporate decision-making. It wasn't their decision to disable Apple Pay. But your solution is to make their lives harder to prove some sort of point to some ********** in a corner office? Its small-minded thinking and you in the future you should seriously reflect more on how your actions truly impact others.

 

[firewood]

I wonder what the penalty is for violating the CurrenC 3 year exclusivity contract? Small enough for a big retailer to ditch the Walmart consortium, eat the penalty clause, and turn NFC back on to keep customers? Or so big, they are stuck finishing out the 3 years while many of their iPhone 6/6+ using customers switch to shopping at Walgreens and Macy's, et.al.

Your move, CVS & Target.

 

[boccabella]

Tim Cook: Good morning. Enable NFC or your app will be removed from the App Store.

CVS: OK, no problem.

Rite Aid: OK, no problem..

Tim Cook: Thank you and have a nice day.

 

[rjflyn]

Or Apple with it's large cash stash could buy MCX and just shut it down

 

[KdParker]

I've moved my prescriptions to Walgreens. Now instead of making a left, I make a right. They are 230 ft apart in my town.

Yep. Didn't do alot of shopping there before, but their insistence on my swiping my card so CVS/RiteAid can get marketing data and cc information in there system in a d**k move.