Accepting contactless payment has been achingly slow to roll out in Chicago. Most restaurants, parking garages, gas stations, grocery stores, and home improvement stores still do not accept it. Many gas stations and most/all parking garages don’t even accept chip. At least the big grocery store holdout, Mariano’s, should hopefully accept contactless soon because they are owned by Kroger.
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Kroger Begins Accepting Apple Pay After Years of Holding Out
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Most places do that by default on accident but they fix it if you tell them. Costco who uses the same system as Kroger did that at first but they rolled out an update and pin bypass has worked ever since then. Safeway who also uses Toshiba released a similar update around the same time. Aldi also forced pin debit for contactless for a bit but they fixed it to allow bypass. It seems like Kroger has done it on purpose.. It SHOULD be the same as inserting a Visa debit card which allows bypass. My big issue with it is that Google Pay Visa debit via my bank causes a decline when pin is forced. Plus it slows the payment process down a lot but others could be getting declines as well.
I rarely take cash back and try to never use cash. The bank I use, for various reasons, is in a different state and has no branches in the state in which I live. So as opposed to paying ATM fees, I just get some cash back at the checkout when needed. I’ve been doing it this way since moving 10+ years ago.
The same is true for Walmart Pay using the AMEX Blue Cash Everyday card -- it codes as an "online retail" purchase and you get 3X points even on in-store purchases.
You should be. I think they have killed Apple Pay at their acquisitions in the past.
There are still far too many times I have to enter a card number to buy something. I get it, but...
Canadian here.
I can't remember when I was NOT able to use NFC payment, save when above the max amount.
Seems odd that it is not the case for you, dear neighbours.
Also, whenever I'm at restaurants in the US, I get heart palpitations when the waiter leaves with my card...
I guess it is easier to update systems for ~40M people in 10 provinces than for ~300M in 50 states. Oh, and 4-5 big banks instead of a billion per county (rough estimate....)
I can't remember when I was NOT able to use NFC payment, save when above the max amount.
Seems odd that it is not the case for you, dear neighbours.
Also, whenever I'm at restaurants in the US, I get heart palpitations when the waiter leaves with my card...
I guess it is easier to update systems for ~40M people in 10 provinces than for ~300M in 50 states. Oh, and 4-5 big banks instead of a billion per county (rough estimate....)
I was thinking a 30 min drive or longer. And it could happen, as walmart has more stores than anybody else. I was also thinking of people who live in small towns: sometimes the only supermarket they have in such a town is a Walmart and they have to drive 30 min or more to the next town for a competitor chain.
Yeah, the “vote with your wallet” works if you can do so.
If retailers want whatever data mining results they get from using their own pay systems, rather than the inconvenience you may have to endure by going elsewhere, just pay with cash. No data mining possible. It would take a lot of shoppers doing this to make regional or national chains take notice unfortunately and most of us are unwilling to carry hundreds of dollars in cash around for weekly grocery purchases. Then there’s this: “But officer, that’s not money from dealing drugs, that’s just the cash I need for my supermarket today. No, really.”
They are already starting to do that. Apple Card is an example in the US. In other countries such as Mexico, a few banks (for example BBVA and Santander) are already issuing cards with nothing but a QR code on them so the owners can see the info by scanning the QR from the bank’s app after logging in with their credentials.
Of course, they also need to send the memo to merchants that it’s ok now if a card has no number printed on it; some Apple Card users have complained on reddit that the staff at some hotel, car rental or restaurant refused to take their Apple card because it lacks the number printed on it. They need to be informed that it’s ok.
It's a long story where these large corporations attempted to create their own credit system without the protections provided by government Credit Card laws. They were asking for WIRE access to your bank account to transfer the fund to avoid the credit card fees. Note: The majority of these corps pay the lowest fees ever. They created a consortium and they agreed to block Google and Apple Pay (It was still pending) at all their stores.
Visa and Mastercard jumped in a offered Apple/Google a cut of their percentage which would mean that there is no increase to the stores or the consumer for using Apple/Google Pay. This caused stores that were already accepting Google Pay, Rite Aid and CVS, to shut it all down. A year passes and more consumers are upset that they weren't accepting either "Pay" systems and the consortium's system is still in limited beta.
The worst part of all this is that the tech company running the consortium's new system was the company behind Home Depot's and Target's multiple data leaks. Imagine giving them WIRE access to your bank account.
That’s obvious. If you’re using an app and paying by scanning a QR code then that’s no longer an in person transaction, it becomes an online transaction even if you’re physically at the store. Likewise for restaurants (in the US), many of which only offer the option to scan a QR or use an app if you don’t want to hand over your card to the waiter/waitress.
This has nothing to do with transaction costs, they just want to harvest more customer data. They really don’t pay anything extra for taking apple pay at their stores (though they might for taking apple pay online, but that’s another story). They still just pay the card network fees. If it were about money, they’d have to go cash only.
It's not an Apple issue. Those companies have spent millions to stop Credit Card companies, prevent Apple/Google Pay and introduce their payment system "CurrentC". (See my other response to get more details)
Not always. Kroger recently acquired some stores previously owned by albertsons group (Randall’s stores I believe) and they haven’t killed contactless/apple pay at those stores.
Yeah, online. But at a restaurant you use your physical card; if they must take it away from you because US restaurants are, at best, reluctant to move away from that old system then it’s better that they take away a card with no numbers printed on it.
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The consortium name was the MCX or merchant exchange group, and the app they were developing was called CurrentC. No wonder it failed miserably. Some existing apps such as Kroger Pay or Walmart were basically built using the remnants of CurrentC.
But currentC already failed. Many of the members of that group, notably including CVS and the aforementioned Target have relented and already accept contactless and apple pay at their stores. Just Walmart is more stubborn and persists in its refusal.
You have said this several times, but it is simply false. Apple does not charge the retailer anything at all. They charge the card issuer. Walmart and HEB want the user data, and Walmart wants to get people using their app so they can then push people to pay with direct debit saving all interchange fees.
I have limited and outdated experience with this, but I do know a few years ago when people were switching to NFC, with at least one (annoying) payment processor it was an option that they charged extra for. I’m sure Apple doesn’t charge for it, and this may have changed. Unless Apple’s terms of service forbids it, there’s nothing stopping the middlemen who provide the terminals and process the payments from charging extra.
Of course if this is true then it’s even more argument for the big chains to support it since clearly they handle their payment systems in house.
I’m not sure, but I think the only thing different with the user data is a chip or swipe gives card number & name.
Tap pay just gives card number. Outlet terminal lists all tap pay as “valued customer”.
CAYAN payments did. Thankfully they’re no longer in business
The retailers already collect all the data the moment you enter your member number. The cash or no member number, they collect everything purchased including location, time of day, and a good guess as to gender. Not much of an upside on the transaction.
But only up to 6k, so not that great. Unfortunately.