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Yeah, here in the Carolinas the Kroger brand is Harris Teeter. No Apple Pay and no intent to provide it despite customer requests. Card insert or swipe only, no tap-to-pay or other contactless methods. Very adamant about NOT changing so I don’t expect them to do so. I’ve shifted my shopping elsewhere but still need to go to HT for some things, FoodLion for most, and Aldi’s occasionally.
 
Why would you carry your drivers license? As others have already mentioned, in many (not all) European countries such as the UK, Spain, France, Scandi, you can pay with Apple Pay everywhere - I never carry my wallet.
We have to carry our license for several reasons. If you want to buy age restricted items like alcohol, they ask for your license even when you are old. It makes it easier for the kids working to not try to guess age, they just ask everyone. We also need it to drive. If you're stopped you will be asked to show it. Leaving it in the car is asking for it to be stolen, we have an issue with that. So, until IDs are virtual we will have a wallet or something to carry our ID. We need it for travel as well.
 
I do shop at Fred Meyer, and have found the lack of Apple Pay more than a little irritating since Safeway/Albertsons does take it. I hope Kroger as a whole gets with the program.

(and then, as mentioned above, Lowe's and/or Home Depot need to get with it)
I fully expect Kroger to remove Safeway/Albertsons ability to accept Apple Pay if the deal to acquire them is allowed to happen.
 
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Nor applicable to me geography-wise, but it’s always good to see Apple Pay accepted at more merchants/locations.
 
They said they would eventually do this.

Hope they bring it all Kroger chains like King Soopers.
Exactly. The ONLY thing I miss about my Samsung Note 20 is Samsung Pay. I haven't carried anything except my ID in years. I have to carry it to the local Kroger chain store because Apple Pay is not accepted and KrogerPay is joke that won't work on my phone unless I hook up to their unsecured wifi. How is it that Samsung Pay works everywhere I've ever needed it and Apple Pay doesn't?
 
I do shop at Fred Meyer, and have found the lack of Apple Pay more than a little irritating since Safeway/Albertsons does take it. I hope Kroger as a whole gets with the program.

(and then, as mentioned above, Lowe's and/or Home Depot need to get with it)
Especially if you accidentally left your card at home and are forced to go back and get it since they do not accept Apple or Google Pay.
 
Kroger and Home Depot I feel like are my two major last hold outs.

Amazon would be another one but that’s self explanatory as to why we would never see it.
Do not forget to add Walmart to the list. I suspect Walmart will be the last hold out since I believe data collection was the reason why they disabled both Apple and Google Pay.
 
I don’t mind Kroger Pay. It applies my loyalty card and payment at one time. Force Touch the app > Kroger Pay for quick access.
Nobody minds that method until your debit/credit card ends up on the dark web due to a data breach. These QR code based payment method have been known to have security issues in the past. In addition to that I do not trust any grocery store chain to adequately fund IT Security for said products like Apple or Google.
 
We've been spoiled around here with our smaller neighborhood grocery stores - they've taken Apple Pay for as long as I can remember. Guess they're not big enough to attempt to do their own app, etc. Good to see that the big hitters are coming around!
 
That’s the only hardware prerequisite. You still need a payment processor, and apparently Apple Pay support is optional and costs a little more. This is a very American thing.

The other very American thing is Home Depot specifically refuses to support it, because they really really want your phone number (and credit card number) to track and market to you. This is the other reason the major retailers refuse to support it. Apple Pay is designed to prevent tracking, and to the Walmarts and other major corporations this is anathema.
Credit Card typically 2% merchant fee - and Apple takes 0.15% of that. The rest goes to the bank and the payment network. Retailers specifically don't like ApplePay as they don't get to see the card number with ApplePay - so they cannot build a history of purchases and track you (as you move to another store) - and cannot collect a complete history over time: that C-19 test you keep buying ...

 
We have to carry our license for several reasons. If you want to buy age restricted items like alcohol, they ask for your license even when you are old. It makes it easier for the kids working to not try to guess age, they just ask everyone. We also need it to drive. If you're stopped you will be asked to show it. Leaving it in the car is asking for it to be stolen, we have an issue with that. So, until IDs are virtual we will have a wallet or something to carry our ID. We need it for travel as well.
I see. Does not apply here. We do not get carded, we do not get pulled over (we just receive a demand for money and a picture of the traffic infraction in the post). So, to get back to the original point: no wallet carried, so shops that do not accept Apple Pay do not get my shopping. Not trying to be mean or self-righteous, its just the practical reality.

I would not be surprised if Apple is adding the virtual ID exactly for that purpose: to enable people to leave their wallet at home, at which point these large chains will likely accept Apple Pay.
 
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Credit Card typically 2% merchant fee - and Apple takes 0.15% of that. The rest goes to the bank and the payment network. Retailers specifically don't like ApplePay as they don't get to see the card number with ApplePay - so they cannot build a history of purchases and track you (as you move to another store) - and cannot collect a complete history over time: that C-19 test you keep buying ...


It’s been a few years since I was involved enough to know the details. I do know that around 2014 I did work for a merchant who specifically refused to use Apple Pay because it would have been slightly more expensive for them. The payment processor specifically told me that Apple Pay was fully supported but they had declined to enable it.
 
Too late for me, moved recently and no local Ralph’s. Local Albertsons accepts Apple Pay though.
But happy to see they finally turned around
 
hahaha I made a point of grabbing a few things, pretending to try and pay with Apple Pay and when an employee tells me it won’t work, I shrug my shoulders and leave my cart. It took them long enough to get the message.
 
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Well that's Pepperidge Farms for you, isn't it? Outdated Family Guy references aside, my girlfriend and I both use Apple Pay and we still shop at Kroger, but we don't only shop at Kroger and Apple Pay definitely factors in to our decision about where to shop on any given day. We prefer Target for most staples specifically because they accept Apple Pay. We mainly go to Kroger for soft drinks (which they have on sale all the time as a loss-leader), and while we're there we'll pick up anything they were out of or that cost too much at Target. We get our fresh fruits, vegetables and meats from Fresh Market which also accepts Apple Pay.

What’s family guy?

But really that’s great and impressive.

Do you shop at Walmart too?
 
This is great news. Not because I shop at Ralph’s., I live in Georgia, we don’t even have a Ralph’s. But because this is most likely the beginning of Kroger headed towards taking Apple Pay everywhere. You do have to start somewhere right? Why not start in the store where it makes the most difference. But I feel comfortable that this is just the beginning. Hey Walmart? Are you paying attention?
 
I've always hated that Ralphs didn't take Apple Pay and I had to use a debit card.
This is great!

I wonder if they had to replace all their pinpads or if they already had NFC and just had to do some software changes to enable it?
 
I've always hated that Ralphs didn't take Apple Pay and I had to use a debit card.
This is great!

I wonder if they had to replace all their pinpads or if they already had NFC and just had to do some software changed to enable it?
I do not know about Ralphs current payment terminal but I know the payment terminals at Kroger do support NFC Tap to Pay but they are disabled in the software.
 
What is wrong with the US? I can use Apple Pay basically anywhere here in Brasil, from the smallest grocer on the street to the biggest chain in the country. Nonsense.
Why is this seen as a problem? Businesses can accept whatever payments they choose. I have tons of options for groceries. My preferred store doesn’t even accept credit cards. But I save a ton of money shopping there.

Some farmers market type places are cash only. No issue for me as I like fresh and cheap.

For those that do accept credit, the only ApplePay holdouts nearby are Kroger and Walmart.

Of course any small vendor can use ApplePay via Square or whatever but their prices tend to be higher.

Maybe folks aren’t aware that grocery stores operate on razor thin margins. I can understand their need to balance profits with customer convenience.
 
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