CVS Stores Reportedly Disabling NFC to Shut Down Apple Pay and Google Wallet

[cmaier]

To all these people who are "protesting" and feigning boycotting of the stores which have decided not to support their pet brand's payment system:

#1 Grow up.

#2 No - seriously, GROW UP.

#3 How did you pay them BEFORE "Apple pay" was revealed? Ah yes - the previous methods... so use those.

#4 Stop being such drama queens - they don't care - they're not going to go through their POS audits, track you down and send you a begging card with money off vouchers and a "please come back to us" letter.

Talk about internet drama... just get over it and default BACK to how you USED to pay.

Having had my credit card replaced twice in the last year because of retailer breaches, you can bet I will boycott cvs. Right now they offer NOTHING to replace the security of Apple pay, so I'm just supposed to hope they don't get breached like Home Depot and target?

 

[tys]

Wow. You're going to take your business elsewhere if you can't use a method of payment that didn't exist in the past anyway? It's no longer possible to pull a debit card from your wallet? What has happened to people?

But that payment method DID exist before. They simply decided to disable it now that people actually want to use it.
I don't even have Apple Pay and I want to take my business elsewhere because it seems like such, as another poster here so eloquently put it, "a dick move"
I guess I just don't understand how the business world works.

 

[doctor-don]

With Apple Pay and Google Wallet, or any other NFC payment they don't get to track you. I don't like google, but at least with Google Wallet it's only google keeping all your private info on their servers, and not every company you've ever shopped at.

And another reason NOT to have Google Wallet.

 

[Spamail]

The idea that these stores will be able to slow down the freight train of Pay in any meaningful way [in order to improve the competitive landscape for MCX] just astounds me as the epitome of foolish.

YOU'RE LATE TO THE MOBILE PAYMENTS PARTY AND HAVE AN INFERIOR SOLUTION THAT'S TARGETED AT LOWER-INCOME SEGMENTS]-- YOU LOSE!

Update: to the little-minded fellow who thinks this is a protest over a 1st world problem of having to use a credit card versus NFC, you're wrong. This is a protest over inane business practices.

 

[duaneu]

Only that this also affects Google Wallet and any other contactless payment system using NFC.

It is a dick move because they supported these standards up until now. This has nothing to do with disgruntled Apple users, but everything with a lack of customer orientation.

It might help to look at this in a more differentiated way, as opposed to just arguing in fanboy rhetoric.

Exactly. It's just that up until now, hardly anyone was using those other systems. Now, Apple has come up with a system that people actually want to use.

 

[aimbdd]

Yeah, cvs sent out no such email fyi...

 

[GlenK]

I'm already a Walgreens guy but now I'll go to CVS and when they don't accept AP I'll just dump my stuff on the counter and leave.

These people are idiots!! They have been for years. Dealt with both these chains before I retired and they are two of the many reasons I'm enjoying retirement.

 

[Rogifan]

The bottom line is this- NFC was great before Apple Pay, and Apple was so far behind the times because they didn't have it. Now that Apple has a chance to make NFC mainstream, many of the same people that were shouting the praises of NFC are suddenly sympathetic to companies that are disabling it.

That is to say, some people would rather see NFC fail than see Apple succeed with it. Truly, truly remarkable.

Yep. Even though this disables use of Google Wallet too they don't care, so long as Apple fails or is embarrassed in some way. Heck someone in this thread aready blamed Apple for the loss of Google Wallet. The level of hate is actually quite amusing.

 

[RedOrchestra]

I'm already a Walgreens guy but now I'll go to CVS and when they don't accept AP I'll just dump my stuff on the counter and leave.

Real mature. How old are you, again?

 

[avanpelt]

You assume that NFC-based payment systems are inpenetrable, just because there is no PHYSICAL fraudulent mechanisms attached to the terminal? Did you never hear of the chip and PIN PDQ terminals that were manufactured with spy firmware DESIGNED INTO them?

If it's man made, it can be man broken. Apple can portray a fortress-like system all it wants, but that image is only upheld until the first instance of the system having been cracked open is revealed. There is ALWAYS a weak link in the chain - something a fallible human being (which we all are) has overlooked or not considered.

Until Apple Pay is hacked, I have no reason to believe that it's not much more secure than swiping plastic. I didn't say it's not possible for Apple Pay's security to be compromised. At this point, nobody really knows. Meanwhile, you've got morons out there installing skimmers on card readers everyday.

 

[SusanK]

My Obamacare mandated pharmacy, CVS, is willing to throw all NFC users under the bus immediately, in hopes some day a year or so in the future, a vacuous, vaporware product may be available.

There is no discussion about how inconvenient it will be as compared to Apple Pay which works right now everywhere, with only your cell, and no physical card specific to each and every retailer, the very point of NFC.

I can't switch pharmacies due to the company policies of the carrier I am mandated to use by the Feds.

Rocketman

Do you have a mail order pharmacy option that can cut CVS out of the deal?

 

[H2SO4]

I was walking my dog yesterday and realized that I needed to pick up a birthday card. I didn't bring a wallet, so I walked by a local cvs and used apple pay to purchase. They would have lost this business if not for this technology.

Similarly, I was walking my dog yesterday too and realized that I needed to pick up some eggs from the farm shop. I didn't bring my iPhone - it was charging from my Mac, so I used the coins in my pocket to pay. They would have lost this business if not for this outdated technology.

 

[josh995]

The solution is simple.

Apple needs to buy the company behind CurrenC, MCX I think it's called, right?

A company that has a product in mind but isn't available yet... should be cheap enough for Apple to buy without making a dent in their bank account...

Then shut it down.

 

[H2SO4]

Having had my credit card replaced twice in the last year because of retailer breaches, you can bet I will boycott cvs. Right now they offer NOTHING to replace the security of Apple pay, so I'm just supposed to hope they don't get breached like Home Depot and target?

Until you find something a lot cheaper where ApplePay is not accepted right?

 

[CoilTap]

To all these people who are "protesting" and feigning boycotting of the stores which have decided not to support their pet brand's payment system:

#1 Grow up.

#2 No - seriously, GROW UP.

#3 How did you pay them BEFORE "Apple pay" was revealed? Ah yes - the previous methods... so use those.

#4 Stop being such drama queens - they don't care - they're not going to go through their POS audits, track you down and send you a begging card with money off vouchers and a "please come back to us" letter.

Talk about internet drama... just get over it and default BACK to how you USED to pay.


Waiting for all the "outcry" from the internehtz when the first report of Mapple Pay being hacked, is announed. It's GOING to happen, whether sooner or later. LOL.

I think you're largely missing the point. The only way you can voice your displeasure with a merchant is by not giving them money. In doing so, you're reacting to an action by the merchant of which you do not approve, in this case CVS making the active decision to disable NFC. So, it is a perfectly valid response to cease shopping at the store to voice your displeasure with that decision. So it has nothing to do with how we may or may not have once paid CVS but rather the only meaningful way to voice disapproval of their decision to disable NFC.

 

[elektrikq]

I think if you check the demographic, it's tilted to the teenager crowd who have NO money of their own,

And how many young professionals do you see walking around with a phone running something other than android or iOS?

The shift of iPhone ownership toward teenagers means nothing, since as you suggest that have no money. Rather, it's the adoption of Google and Apple devices by age AND income that are most important.

In 2013 smartphone ownership among 18-29 year olds making $75k+ was 90%. 30-49 year olds were 87% in that same income bracket. (Source:http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/06/05/smartphone-ownership-2013/)

These are high value customers that likely drive a significant portion of the transactions at CVS.

 

[CoilTap]

The solution is simple.

Apple needs to buy the company behind CurrenC, MCX I think it's called, right?

A company that has a product in mind but isn't available yet... should be cheap enough for Apple to buy without making a dent in their bank account...

Haha, yup. Buy it and immediately kill it.

 

[bazinga!!]

First of all, what little money Apple gets from each transaction doesn't come from the merchant. This has been stated many times before this thread came into existence, and many times within this thread.

Second, how do you even make the connection between someone wanting to use a feature on their device and them also being a sheep? This doesn't even affect just iPhone users, it affects ANY person that wants to use NFC- Google Wallet included. Why should someone want to wait a couple months to use a different system that stores your personal information when there is a system available now that protects your privacy and doesn't require anything other apps to be installed?

Bending over that far backwards to insult people is really embarrassing.

First of all, if all retailers could group together and get that 0.15%, why the heck wouldn't they do it?? Is Apple now responsible for all mobile payments? There can be no more competition?
Secondly yes I find people freaking out over these details sheeps. I'm sorry but if you have been going to a store for years like some people here, and you change that habit simply because a new feature is not available, that's kinda crazy. Wait a bit for god's sake, who knows what'll happen.

 

[Spamail]

The solution is simple.

Apple needs to buy the company behind CurrenC, MCX I think it's called, right?

A company that has a product in mind but isn't available yet... should be cheap enough for Apple to buy without making a dent in their bank account...

Then shut it down.

Or just ban their app from the App Store.

 

[AllieNeko]

At the inconvenience of their customers, who are now speaking out and boycotting both Rite Aid and CVS. Good for the customers! I am also one of them, expecting my 6 Plus soon, with a Walgreens and CVS down the street. Guess which one I'm going to use?

The only reason is because those merchants who are part of CurrentC want your private information. Screw that.

Private information and lower fees (they think... they might be disappointed to find out what running a payment network really costs... though they can keep costs down if they adopt an anti-consumer attitude towards disputes and fraud liability).

 

[randymac09]

Apple will probably get 0.15% per transaction made, so shut up if u just wish to defend Apple no matter what. I like Apple, that's why I'm on this forum, I only pointed out why retailers would be reluctant to use Apple Pay. If retailers can develop an 'in-house' mobile system, at least they don't need to give that 0.15% to Apple.

Again, the retailers are not the ones paying the 0.15%, the banks are. I would have figured your response would have been different, or non-existent, if you were going to reply with the same misinformation.

This subject has been beaten into the ground since the introduction of Apple Pay. Any time spent on this forum would lead you to countless references of the above information.

 

[themyst]

This is stupid, NFC tech will never get off the ground in the US if this kind of stuff keeps happening.

Virtually ALL of South Korea has NFC tech installed and I'm sure there's more than one vendor for that. It's quite convenient since virtually everyone has an NFC-enabled Smartphone out there.

 

[tbayrgs]

And the merchant services provider ALSO doesn't pay apple. The issuing banks do.

So, again, the merchants don't pay one dime.

Exactly, and the number of financial institutions on board with Apple Pay is far greater than the proportion of retails presently accepting Apple Pay. If anyone would be complaining, you'd expect banks unhappy with the arrangement would be most vocal, yet nary a peep.

 

[gleepskip]

I'm not sure this is true. I know it was suspected but I think the PAN token might, in fact, be static. Not the real number, but not changing every time. The transaction code that keeps NFC secure and not copyable, is, of course, constantly changing.

When you add a card to the iPhone, it generates a device account number (DAN) for that card. Each card you add will get a unique DAN. This number does not change and is presented to any retailer when completing a purchase. The variable part of the transaction is the authentication code, which is unique for every transaction.

 

[tys]

What percentage of shoppers at those 2 stores are carrying an iPhone 6 ... give your collective heads a shake.

And out of 350 million people, how many have an iPhone 6?

Over 10 million as of a month ago. Maybe not a huge percentage, but that's still a lot of affluent customers you're turning away.