Kroger Begins Accepting Apple Pay After Years of Holding Out

[The-Real-Deal82]

For everyone bashing the US for being behind the times with respect to payments, it has nothing to do with technology. ApplePay originated in the US after all. As did iPhones. It’s not like there isn’t suitable tech there that’s existed just as long as it has everywhere else.

It has to do with cultural and behavioral entrenchment of end users; the perceived value of extreme tracking and hyper-targeted advertising; the lack of any national privacy initiatives; the lack of will or knowledge of uninformed and ineffective government to enact privacy policies; and a long standing tradition of corporate hubris.

Contactless payments were being used well before Apple Pay came along and were a French inception initially. Apple just transferred a widely used technology onto a phone much like Samsung and other Android OEM’s did around 2014. This was 6 years after Europe and much of Asia had seen contactless payments becoming mainstream throughout more than a third of retailers in their respective countries. Apple is a very multinational company with design and R&D carried out across the World too. I agree it’s definitely a cultural thing but this has meant America is around 15 years behind in regards to banking systems because people there seem to resist new technologies when it comes to payments. Using the magnetic strips for swipe payments, signing for purchases and not having contactless on credit cards when more modern technologies are used in other western countries is testament to that. It’s not a competition though, just interesting considering how advanced America is in some regards compared to others.

 

[aperture01]

HOME DEPOT COME ON BABY!

 

[russell_314]

Yeah I’ve heard the vote with your wallet thing way too many times. Unfortunately, I’ve found that’s not always easy or even possible to do it, and these abusive retailers know it, that’s why they get away with blocking certain forms of payment. Home Depot, for example, has a lot of products and brands it sells exclusively (example: zep cleaning products) making it almost impossible to vote with your wallet when you can’t buy the same product elsewhere. Walmart is the largest US retailer and as such has a much greater presence that any of its competitors throughout the US and even in other countries.

Very hard to vote with your wallet when the only thing you have nearby is a Walmart store and you have to drive a long way to find a competitor’s store.

I think it depends on what you consider a long way. Sure it's not practical to drive an hour to another store but if you're talking a 15 minute drive versus a 5 minute drive, then most people could make that time. Of course everyone has their own schedule, so you have to decide what's more important for you.

Not easy to vote with the wallet when walmart has a better price for the same product or offers a discount not offered by the competitors.

Sure it is and you do. If a better price means more than having Apple Pay that means you voted against Apple Pay. I mean, if it's all you can afford in your really hurting to the point where spending that extra five dollars is going to make you homeless or be able to pay bills then for sure save the five dollars but I don't suspect that's the case with most people. If it's just to be cheap, then you have nobody to blame but yourself that Walmart doesn't have Apple Pay.

I believe social networks should be used besides avoiding those stores. Pressure from a negative public opinion was in part what made Walmart yield and start accepting contactless in Canada, the only country where they accept it, after walmart became the only holdout in the whole country.

I totally agree that it's sometimes impossible to avoid businesses that do things you don't like. Not accepting contactless payment or Apple Pay is just one example. I do business with a lot of businesses, that I really disagree with, but due to my options being limited on my situation, my choices are limited.

I also agree that social media pressure does help. What I think is a waste of time other than maybe making you feel better is complaining to the cashier. I'm not, nor I have ever been a cashier but I know they have no control over store or corporate policy which this would be. They probably have heard every complaint in the world and they can literally do nothing about it. They are just disposable employees. By complaining to them, you're just making their life a little bit more difficult when they're trying to make money to survive

 

[Artemis70]

As a foreigner, visiting a couple of times a year, not having apple pay in places like Walmart really bugs me. Walmart's own system is not open for foreigners. By now I know the stores that do accept apply pay and those are the only ones getting my business.

 

[MacBoy88]

I noticed Lowe’s is now taking Apple Pay in its app. Maybe stores will follow.

 

[macintologist]

The good thing about Kroger pay is that it codes as online grocery/delivery so you get 3x points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred using Kroger Pay, even if you are physically in the store.

 

[macintologist]

My Apple Pay wishlist:

- Walmart and Lowes acceptance (or ANY form of tap-to-pay)

- Target allowing Debit RedCard to be added and used in my Apple Wallet

I just use the Target app since I'm in there already adding coupons and offers so I just tap on Wallet and then they scan my QR.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Finally!

Maybe?

Don't count Krogers out in their ability to misread the winds of change. I think they think they need to come up with another QR code generating hot mess. I seem to feel it coming for some reason...

 

[macintologist]

Kroger chain where I’m at has been accepting it for a few months now. I can’t use it if I want to get cash back because then it asks me for a PIN, which I don’t have on my credit card (Discover). So if I want cash back, I actually have to use the credit card and I have to swipe the card. Contactless will also ask for a PIN.

Why on earth do you need "cash back?" Why on earth do you need to withdrawl cash from Kroger in such a manner? Just use an ATM. Afraid of ATM fees? Use a bank that reimburses ATM fees.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Yeah, you're missing the point. Them storing your card info is the issue. I don't want anyone—given the number of data breaches across many companies—storing my payment info. I don't shop at Sam's (prefer Costco), so it's really moot for me anyway.

To each their own, but there are protections in place to offset the risk. If my CC info gets stolen, it's the banks money, not mine. They give me a new card. Big deal. The convenience outweighs the risk. I never use my debit card numbers online, and all my cards have purchase alerts set so I know immediately when any of them are used. That gives me time to shut down any card that got compromised.

I use my Apple Watch everywhere I can to pay for things.

If I didn't store my CC on the sites I purchase from the most often, It'd be a huge pain the butt entering all that info over and over and over.

I trust gas pumps less than anything. I suppose you could bypass the pump and go inside and use cash, but I don't typically carry cash anymore. Fortunately, Costco gas is contactless and I've found a couple others who use contactless at the pump.

In the end, setup alerts, don't use your debit cards online and you've minimized risk.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I just use the Target app since I'm in there already adding coupons and offers so I just tap on Wallet and then they scan my QR.

All these store apps leave me with one question: 'How much of what I do do I want them to know, and possibly try to control, or influence'.

I have only used one store app, and it's about to eject me because they haven't gotten enough of my information lately.

At Target, Worst Try, etc, I use Apple Pay. I see it as my patriotic duty to exclude my personal information from those companies. I'm a customer, not a profit center.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Why on earth do you need "cash back?" Why on earth do you need to withdrawl cash from Kroger in such a manner? Just use an ATM. Afraid of ATM fees? Use a bank that reimburses ATM fees.

Our local Kroger-based store, Ralphs, actually charges for cash-back. I forget how much but I'm not paying anyone to give me cash-back after I just spent money in their store. Is there even a fee they pay when a customer gets cash back or is it a money-grab, sort of like the bag fees we're charged here in CA?

 

[NY Guitarist]

Borg: "Resistance is futile."

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

To each their own, but there are protections in place to offset the risk. If my CC info gets stolen, it's the banks money, not mine. They give me a new card. Big deal. The convenience outweighs the risk. I never use my debit card numbers online, and all my cards have purchase alerts set so I know immediately when any of them are used. That gives me time to shut down any card that got compromised.

I use my Apple Watch everywhere I can to pay for things.

If I didn't store my CC on the sites I purchase from the most often, It'd be a huge pain the butt entering all that info over and over and over.

I trust gas pumps less than anything. I suppose you could bypass the pump and go inside and use cash, but I don't typically carry cash anymore. Fortunately, Costco gas is contactless and I've found a couple others who use contactless at the pump.

In the end, setup alerts, don't use your debit cards online and you've minimized risk.

Ironically it was Discover that gave us a bit of a fit over the number of times our numbers were 'borrowed'. We use the Discover Card for traveling and in 'less nice' areas. In one year the number from my card had been stolen (borrowed) at three restaurants and by employees of two airport rental car companies, among a number of other outlets. In one year, the number had been stolen more than any other time in my life. (we also had an American Express number stolen twice too) Discover asked a bunch of questions, and seemed to imply that WE allowed or encouraged the stealing of the number(s). We finally got new cards, yet they denied adding them to Apple Pay for a couple months.

On the back side, the merchants pay for taking a 'bad card'. Even if their merchant account carrier actually approves the transaction! It's not the credit card companies money, it's the merchants. My company dropped our merchant account because of the exposure. If credit card fraud surges, we might see a change in those agreements and regulations. One could be holding the card carrier, you and me, more responsible for the loss of control of the number. Giving credit card numbers to online vendors just seems so much more dangerous than it did even 5 years ago. People store credit card numbers in their local browsers, big mistake. Some Apple Pay alternatives offer holding your credit card number for 'convenience'. For whom? I have tried to limit my exposure to fraud as much as possible, and it's not been easy... *shrug*

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Borg: "Resistance is futile."

This is the way?

 

[Tech Haven]

Krogers added ApplePay to Ralphs a few months back - but it's a half-assed implementation still requires inputting a PIN code and far more interaction that at almost every other place I use ApplePay. Ideally they'll get I prove the UX soon, but I'm skeptical.

 

[dwaltwhit]

You've been able to put their tracking card in Apple Wallet for years. Tap the 3 lines menu, then Plus Card, then View in Apple Wallet.

Kroger’s? But their terminals don’t take apple pay. Can they take the loyalty?

 

[TheRealNick]

But Walmart disables contactless not only in the US, also in every other country where they have a presence except Canada. Those guys are a bunch of anti-contactless nuts.

Walmart had a controlling share of Asda in the UK until 2021 and they accepted all contactless payments including Apple Pay before then. Walmart sold most of their equity in Asda in 2021 but they still own a portion of it and still accept Apple Pay.

 

[QuarterSwede]

As someone who works for one of the hold outs it’s maddening to not be able to use my preferred payment method. Heck, we don’t even have pin pads that have NFC turned on so tap to pay isn’t enabled either (although that one isn’t nearly as secure; if you don’t have an RFID wallet or card holder, get one. They’re trivially easy to read).

I don’t know the official reason for not supporting Apple Pay, etc but I’d have to guess it has to do with pushing the in house card and being able to track what purchases you’re making.

 

[tdar]

You know the people that could help us is the card groups Mastercard and Visa along with their issuing banks. The card groups and the issuing banks like Apple Pay because it lowers their risk of fraud and its resultant cost. They should just require the merchant to support Apple Pay ( and it’s equivalencies ). That would work for everyone but Walmart. Who doesn’t have a merchant bank.But if everyone else was required to use it, I would think that they could not be the only ones left.

 

[theirongiant]

My local Kroger-owned Ralphs in Southern California started accepting Apple Pay a couple months ago.

Which store?

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Ironically it was Discover that gave us a bit of a fit over the number of times our numbers were 'borrowed'. We use the Discover Card for traveling and in 'less nice' areas. In one year the number from my card had been stolen (borrowed) at three restaurants and by employees of two airport rental car companies, among a number of other outlets. In one year, the number had been stolen more than any other time in my life. (we also had an American Express number stolen twice too) Discover asked a bunch of questions, and seemed to imply that WE allowed or encouraged the stealing of the number(s). We finally got new cards, yet they denied adding them to Apple Pay for a couple months.

On the back side, the merchants pay for taking a 'bad card'. Even if their merchant account carrier actually approves the transaction! It's not the credit card companies money, it's the merchants. My company dropped our merchant account because of the exposure. If credit card fraud surges, we might see a change in those agreements and regulations. One could be holding the card carrier, you and me, more responsible for the loss of control of the number. Giving credit card numbers to online vendors just seems so much more dangerous than it did even 5 years ago. People store credit card numbers in their local browsers, big mistake. Some Apple Pay alternatives offer holding your credit card number for 'convenience'. For whom? I have tried to limit my exposure to fraud as much as possible, and it's not been easy... *shrug*

It seems the changes that have been made (chip, tap-to-pay, Apple Pay, etc.) has reduced 1st person fraud significantly.
Can't do much about stolen cards (lost and used by the finder). More and more restaurants have wireless terminals brought to the table so my card doesn't leave my possession. It should become a requirement. Places like Canada have them everywhere.

I was just thinking about the number that is printed on the card. What if they just removed it? Long gone are the days of using the gadget to impress an image of the numbers on carbon paper. As long as I have a record of my number, why does it need to be ON the card? If it's not on the card, the restaurant or car rental place have no way of knowing the number.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Which store?

For us, we're in San Diego and Ralph's stores here take Apple Pay.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Krogers added ApplePay to Ralphs a few months back - but it's a half-assed implementation still requires inputting a PIN code and far more interaction that at almost every other place I use ApplePay. Ideally they'll get I prove the UX soon, but I'm skeptical.

I never understood terminals that require a PIN after using Apple Pay. Apple Pay itself cannot be used unless it's unlocked by the owner. It's already secure, unlike cards with NFC or chips that don't require PIN and have no security at all. Literally anyone can take a stolen or lost card and use it until the owner cancels the card. How is that secure?

 

[Magnus81]

Kroger this week began accepting Apple Pay and other contactless payment methods at select locations in Kentucky and Ohio, allowing customers to tap to pay with an iPhone or Apple Watch at checkout, according to customers on Reddit and Twitter.

It's unclear how many Kroger locations are now accepting Apple Pay, or if NFC-based payments will be expanded to all of the over 1,200 grocery stores that operate under the namesake Kroger brand. We have reached out to a company spokesperson for comment and will update this story if we receive any additional information.

Kroger was one of the largest Apple Pay holdouts in the U.S. since the service launched in 2014, alongside Walmart, The Home Depot, and Lowe's. Kroger did roll out Apple Pay at some of its other grocery chains in the past few years, including Ralphs in California, QFC in Washington and Oregon, and King Soopers in Colorado and Wyoming.

Kroger-owned chain Fred Meyer also recently started accepting Apple Pay at its stores in the Northwest, a spokesperson confirmed, while its North Carolina-based banner Harris Teeter tweeted it is "working towards accepting Apple Pay."

In a press release last year, Apple said that Apple Pay was accepted at more than 90% of U.S. retailers, and Kroger is a significant addition. The company also continues to offer its own service called Kroger Pay, which requires customers to scan a QR code at checkout to pay with a debit or credit card stored in the Kroger app.

Article Link: Kroger Begins Accepting Apple Pay After Years of Holding Out

Strange situation in the US, here in EU (Sweden at least) Apple Pay just works everywhere. I wonder if in EU Apple Pay transaction cost is the same as regular contactless payment? Or what the reason might be? 🤔