Retailers Cite 'Insufficient Customer Demand' as Biggest Reason for Not Supporting Apple Pay

[4jasontv]

I just got a call from Home Depot saying they got my survey, and the reason for Apple Pay being shut off was due to a recent hack, which forced them to do a POS upgrade. I explained that while that may be true, NFC wasn't hacked, and doesn't fully justify the response. More importantly having the hardware visible makes them look incompetent, because it implies leadership committed enough to pay for the equipment but that their IT doesn't know how to turn it on. (I realize that it is not the only justification for being off, but it is one perspective.)

 

[Elbon]

It's so quick and easy to use chip & pin or contactless cards I can't see most people bothering with Apple Pay once the initial interest has died down.

Maybe so, but in the US, hardly anyone has chip & PIN or contactless cards. So Apple Pay is a great alternative to the magnetic stripe cards that most people have.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Maybe someone has already said it, but you know of it was 'Google Pay', or 'Microsoft Pay', they would be all over it... Panting... Salivating...

 

[RickInHouston]

So... greedy retailers wanting to spam their customers is a significant reason for not supporting Apple Pay?

That's the real reason, not a "lack of consumer interest." If consumers could reliably use Apple Pay at every point-of-sale terminal, and if retailers didn't impose stupid requirements like requiring me to sign after I've already authenticated via my device and thumbprint, everyone would be using NFC payment solutions like Apple Pay. If this were the case, I would never use a stupid swipe credit card again.

Shame on retailers for sticking their noses into our purchasing habits and wanting to spam us. I'm so tired of this invasion of privacy and impact on my time. Isn't it enough that I spend my hard-earned money at your establishment?

You get spammed either way. One with ads more in line with your past purchases vs. ads that may have nothing of interest for you. Can't see the big problem it causes, here.

 

[MacWorks916]

I think it's the lack of places that accept Apple Pay that's the biggest factor. Many times I find myself about to swipe my card when I see the Apple Pay logo on the display. By that point I just swipe it. Perhaps consumers like me need to condition ourselves into looking at the credit card terminal before reaching for our payment section.

 

[John.B]

When searching for a reason why so many companies were against backing the service, "insufficient customer demand" was the biggest reason cited by merchants. This was followed by lack of data access granted through observing customer buying habits, cost of installation, and support of other contactless payments solutions like Current-C. Twenty-eight total retailers noted that lack of data access, and the inability to send customized advertisements to individual users like traditional credit cards allow, is a "key reason" they won't accept Apple Pay.

Insufficient customer demand, my arse! LOL The rest I believe. The thing is, they have to re-roll their retail terminals by October, so why not buy a flexible solution that supports both chip+sign/chip+PIN and NFC payments? My grocery store tracks customer habits with a loyalty card that translates into cents-off savings at gas stations and they don't seem to have problems tracking customers, even those that pay cash...

Shortsightedness abounds.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I just got a call from Home Depot saying they got my survey, and the reason for Apple Pay being shut off was due to a recent hack, which forced them to do a POS upgrade. I explained that while that may be true, NFC wasn't hacked, and doesn't fully justify the response. More importantly having the hardware visible makes them look incompetent, because it implies leadership committed enough to pay for the equipment but that their IT doesn't know how to turn it on. (I realize that it is not the only justification for being off, but it is one perspective.)

Funny, I got an email from Home Despot saying that Apple Pay was 'Coming real soon now'... Like by mid-June in some areas.

 

[wxman2003]

I prefer Apple Pay, but the reality is that it will never catch on with the masses, even with Android phones jumping on board. Everyone's cards will be switching over to chip versions this year, and 95% of the consumers will be happy to pay that way. I don't envision Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or other similar types of payments to ever catch on in this country. It's just a niche market.

 

[2457282]

Everywhere I go, I first try to purchase with ApplePay. Either the cashier says something like "we are not that advanced." Or the machine (CVS, Rite Aid) deny the transaction after the machine recognizes the device. In my little way I try to constantly record my desire to pay through Apple Pay.

But retailers be ware. I am begining to note who does and does not accept Apple Pay. It is beginning to change my shopping decisions. Duane Reed takes Apple Pay -- will go there over CVS or Rite Aid if close enough.

 

[4jasontv]

So having an ad that targets you is the deal breaker over an ad that has nothing to do with you. Why would you prefer an ad that you have no interest in than one you might? This makes not sense. Maybe one gets lost with the semantics of being 'targeted' as apposed to a less aggressive sounding word?

Targeted ads means we pay more for the product. First we gave them money for the item, and then we gave them information about us. Money can be used to buy goods and service, while information lowers cost of business. If they offered to lower the cost of the item in exchange for the information it would be one thing (such as discount club cards), but we shouldn't be passively paying more for the product simply because they want us to.

 

[Deelron]

Apple pay is neat, but paying with cash or plastic isn't a pain point and is a very efficient process.

The problem is the same people who don't support newer technologies (obviously in relationship to plastic) are the ones that get hacked in the "very efficient process", ending with it being very inefficient for the end user if you're one effected.

 

[RangerOne]

Anywhere that has the Contactless Payment logo on their POS or chip and pin machines. There is no such thing as being Apple Pay only, as long as it supports NFC contactless payment it will work.

As I understand it even some of the POS terminals with these icons need upgrades to support it, but the retailer must also have it enabled. They can disable it if they don't want to support it. For both these reasons, this icon is not an accurate indicator of Apple Pay support.

 

[mono1980]

I used it for the very first time today. It worked without a hitch. I thought it was great. Wish it was everywhere.

 

[nazaar]

Yeah it's great... I love it here in Canada!

oh... wait it's not here yet.

 

[odditie]

How are the Security benefits are minimal? even if you only use it at once place, it that place gets hacked it protects your info

With not many supporting it, the security benefit is minimal because I'm using my card at 20-30 retailers and 1-2 support Apple Pay, of which I rarely use the merchants that have Apple Pay.

So if I have 100 transactions a month and maybe 2-3 of them are Apple Pay transactions, it really isn't a big impact on my security. It is SOME impact and that is good, but the lack of wide spread adoption really minimizes the protection.

Also, like in my McDonalds example, I will use Apple Pay in store (rare) and a credit card in the drive thru (less rare) so even if I use Apple Pay for some of the transactions at McDonalds, I can still have my credit card compromised because I'm not using it there always.

 

[2457282]

I prefer Apple Pay, but the reality is that it will never catch on with the masses, even with Android phones jumping on board. Everyone's cards will be switching over to chip versions this year, and 95% of the consumers will be happy to pay that way. I don't envision Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or other similar types of payments to ever catch on in this country. It's just a niche market.

The CC companies have told the retailers that they will take full liability if they do not switch to the chip readers this year. This is forcing a lot of conversion. The CC companies also realize that what Apple Pay has done is even more secure than the Chip. They will force this soon enough to help reduce fraud. This is why they have all jumped on it. The screwed up with the authentication, but I think that is now resolved and I suspect that next year they may begin to push the retailers.

 

[laurim]

Maybe someone has already said it, but you know of it was 'Google Pay', or 'Microsoft Pay', they would be all over it... Panting... Salivating...

Nope, Google Pay (Google Wallet) has been in existence for years and no one gave a crap. Only Pay made businesses start to care and look into it. Were you being sarcastic?

 

[QCassidy352]

The biggest plus to AP is the data protection. But customers don't feel that pain point. We've become numb to the endless data breaches. And if your card is compromised, the actual liability most people experience is very limited.

I've had one card compromised twice since October '14. I don't ultimately get held accountable for the false charges, but it's annoying. Phone call to the issuer, cut up the old card, takes a few days for the new one to arrive, and have to change the number anywhere it's saved (Netflix recurring payments, iTunes Store, etc). Not the end of the world, but definitely an incentive for me to use Apple pay where I can.

 

[colin.mcgraw]

Apple pay is neat, but paying with cash or plastic isn't a pain point and is a very efficient process.

Pulling a phone out and putting it up to a reader takes less time than pulling a wallet out, pulling out the right card, then swiping it. It also takes less space to store cards electronically vs. physically in a wallet, especially if you have a lot of store cards and loyalty cards.

ApplePay also has the advantage of using a one-time credit card number so it's more secure (your credit card number would have never been hacked at Target if ApplePay was supported and used), etc.

The thing that sucks about ApplePay is that about 1/2 of my credit cards (and all loyalty cards) don't support it, and there's only a few retailers where I can use it.

I love ApplePay when I can use it, though!

 

[AdonisSMU]

A little off topic but assuming you do like the taste, when you buy McD’s you know exactly what you’re getting. This is part of their recipe for success.

I eat McDonalds from time to time. I was being dramatic for effect before making my point... that consumers won't demand stuff like that because debit card and credit card exist but if banks decide the fraud that happens with them is too much for their taste then what? I think there is another component to this... online ApplePay transactions.

 

[currentinterest]

Despite Apple dubbing 2015 "the year of Apple Pay" in its January earnings call, a number of big-name retailers remain skeptical over the contactless payments service, according to Reuters. The service launched last October in the U.S. and has steadily gained support from numerous banks and retailers in the months since.

Working through the National Retail Federation's top 100 United States merchants, of which Apple said "about half" would begin to accept Apple Pay this year, Reuters found the company's predictions may be "too optimistic," with many retailers remaining skeptical about Apple Pay. After questioning and interviewing a total of 98 of the top 100 NRF merchants, it was discovered that fewer than a quarter of the retailers currently accept Apple Pay while nearly two-thirds of the companies confirmed they would not be supporting the mobile payments service this year. Just four retailers confirmed to Reuters that they would in fact be joining the support of Apple Pay in 2015.

Apple has still made significant progress since the service's debut last October, increasing retail acceptance to over 700,000 points of sale as of the last financial Apple Pay update in March. According to one retailer not accepting Apple Pay, the Cupertino-based company comes on strong when pitching to possible partners.
When searching for a reason why so many companies were against backing the service, "insufficient customer demand" was the biggest reason cited by merchants. This was followed by lack of data access granted through observing customer buying habits, cost of installation, and support of other contactless payments solutions like Current-C. Twenty-eight total retailers noted that lack of data access, and the inability to send customized advertisements to individual users like traditional credit cards allow, is a "key reason" they won't accept Apple Pay.

Despite questions about the future of Apple Pay, its current partners echo enthusiasm in customer satisfaction and ease-of-use with Apple Pay. Whole Foods spokesperson Michael Silverman told Reuters that Apple's mobile wallet accounted for 2 percent of its sales dollars as of March, with an expected increase in the future. "Our shoppers are really enjoying the speed, convenience and security of Apple Pay," Silverman said. With WWDC around the corner, and rumors of much-requested features such as a rewards program coming to the platform, its likely additional companies will come around to Apple Pay as Apple beefs up the still fairly nascent service and consumer traction continues to improve.

Article Link: Retailers Cite 'Insufficient Customer Demand' as Biggest Reason for Not Supporting Apple Pay

 

[laurim]

With not many supporting it, the security benefit is minimal because I'm using my card at 20-30 retailers and 1-2 support Apple Pay, of which I rarely use the merchants that have Apple Pay.

So if I have 100 transactions a month and maybe 2-3 of them are Apple Pay transactions, it really isn't a big impact on my security. It is SOME impact and that is good, but the lack of wide spread adoption really minimizes the protection.

Also, like in my McDonalds example, I will use Apple Pay in store (rare) and a credit card in the drive thru (less rare) so even if I use Apple Pay for some of the transactions at McDonalds, I can still have my credit card compromised because I'm not using it there always.

But none of that is Pay's fault. The point is, if we could use Pay everywhere, we would be more secure. Even a small amount of more secure is more secure.

 

[Arcus]

Anywhere that has the Contactless Payment logo on their POS or chip and pin machines. There is no such thing as being Apple Pay only, as long as it supports NFC contactless payment it will work.

Not true at all. Starbucks, Home Depot ( until recently ) CVS ALL had this symbol and took other forms of NFC payment but did not take apple pay.

 

[62tele]

I recently read this: "the US lags behind other countries in its rollout of cards that are designed to stymie fraud. Most American credit cards still rely on magnetic strips, which are easy to copy, while Europe and other regions have moved forward with chip-and-pin cards..." so it's no wonder that it would take Apple Pay longer to gain acceptance. American business is extremely short sighted and mostly focused on the next quarter results.

 

[JAQ]

I've given up on it because most of the retailers where I've tried it that "support" it don't really support it. I wave the phone at the terminal with my finger in place .... and they still ask me to sign the pad or punch in a PIN. If they're going to make it just as much trouble compared to swiping a card (actually a little more, because I need to thumb it properly), then why should I bother?