Rite Aid Disables Apple Pay Support After Initially Accepting Payments

[RedOrchestra]

... those countries get to benefit *directly* from our advances in technology, instead of having to relive the dark ages themselves.

I'm in Canada, I've been tapping and going for close to 2 years ... so much for "our advances in technology."

Canadian banks are saying Apple Pay is a year away - so I'll tap my cards, and use my 6 as a phone.

 

[BoulderAdonis]

I think the fact that you would do this says more about you than it does Rite Aid...

And apparently the 10+ upvotes he received says quite a bit about *you*. 🙄

----------

There is a Rite Aid and a Walgreens (oh and a CVS) all on one corner near my house...guess which pharmacy is not getting my business...I actually plan to attempt to purchase something and when it is not accepted, give my "feedback" to the manager. Maybe if enough of us do that, Rite Aid will get the picture. Doesn't Rite Aid have the lowest market share of the three big national chains?

This.

 

[spectrumfox]

Don Quixote is that you? 😀

Rite Aid chose to join a group of retailers supporting a different initiative. Big deal.

Bolded from your comment: Rite Aid is not a toddler. They are not mis-behaving. They made a business decision that they feel is in their best interest. It's what all business do, including Apple. Time will prove them wrong... or not.

Make an example of them? Hehe. I'm going out on a limb. This is only an issue on Apple-centric sites. The rest of the world doesn't really care. This doesn't even rise to the level of first world problem. The hyperbolic statements in this thread are fascinating, abhorrent, and puzzling all at once.

We've had posters suggest going into stores intentionally "fake" purchasing just to leave merchandise on the counter (as if these decisions are made at a store level). Juvenile much? We've even had someone suggest they hope Rite Aid gets hacked. Hacked!! That's incredulous. Simply because Rite Aid does something contrary to Apple, this poster wants to put the financial data of others at risk? Who thinks this way? Because Apple? 😱😕😱 Words are insufficient to describe the idiocy of that idea.

FWI, Rite Aid may have removed NFC capability completely (not just Apple Pay) because of their decision to go with CurrentC. I've heard that inclusion in the program precludes the use of other forms of mobile payment. Can't verify this so take it with a grain of salt.

Basically this ain't a big deal.

I'm always relieved to run into other level-headed, thinking individuals here on the forums, instead of people who just blindly react. Thank you for being so rational.

 

[rocksyoursock]

It is a shame that Rite Aid is blocking Apple Pay. I really hope it isn't due to CurrentC.

I work for a retailer that will be implementing CurrentC at some point. CurrentC will link to people's bank accounts to avoid the stores paying transaction fees. I don't believe it will link to credit cards, but its likely it will link to individual store's charge cards. Also, stores will be able to track your spending habits to market you more.

I hope Apple Pay wins over CurrentC.

 

[2010mini]

No, no they didn't. They pissed off a small handful of uppity iPhone users. It's not even going to be a blip on their radar.

You think way too much of yourself. iPhone users do not rule the world. Calm down.

I am fully calm and very level headed. You are the one who is scolding as if you know better. 10-15 years ago such a move by rite aid would not be a blip.

today however in our increasing social media driven society, it is not a "blip" respected New orgs now pay attention to social media as they do the AP.

It was a silly move.

 

[spectrumfox]

I am fully calm and very level headed. You are the one who is scolding as if you know better. 10-15 years ago such a move by rite aid would not be a blip.

today however in our increasing social media driven society, it is not a "blip" respected New orgs now pay attention to social media as they do the AP.

It was a silly move.

I'm not debating that it was a silly move. Of course it is.

I'm just trying to help people gain a little perspective. What I'm saying is, it's not even as big of a deal as some people here are making it out to be.

Not even remotely.

 

[tdar]

You want to bring a lawsuit against a merchant to force them to install a particular type of point-of-sale equipment? Good luck with that.

NOOOOOOOO! If MCX and it's members are IN FACT colluding and conspiring to block all mobile payment systems other than their own, that is a violation of law. I won't be suing but Apple, Google and Microsoft sure will be.

 

[Peace]

NOOOOOOOO! It MCX and it's members are IN FACT colluding and conspiring to block all mobile payment systems other than their own, that is a violation of law. I won't be suing but Apple, Google and Microsoft sure will be.

How is that a violation of law ? Please link the applicable law you speak of.

 

[Moto G]

I tell you what ELSE "just works", and has for hundreds of years - even if you forget your phone, or the battery is dead...

 

[jeremiah256]

Apple Pay Tokenization

Apple Pay uses a tokenization standard called EMVCo. It has been around for almost two decades. Apple Pay is designed so it can be implemented via any NFC terminal as long as your card is supported.

Apple Pay does not cost the merchant any additional fee. The amount the merchant already provides to the banks is the same. The banks are giving Apple a little bit of their share of the profits (temporarily I'd bet) because Apple is one of the few companies that can push this new standard.

The downside (for the merchant, at least) is that the token they receive, while looking exactly like the credit card data they are used to getting, is single purpose and always different for each purchase. That means they can't track you automatically via tracking your credit card number. You'll either have to give them personal data whenever you buy something or use a Loyalty Card in addition to Apple Pay.

Rite Aid is part of a group that wants to use a different standard called MCX or CurrentC, which would allow tracking, especially via loyalty cards. It uses a QR code instead of NFC, so won't work with Apple Pay nor with NFC payments, standard on all Android phones.

Yep, MCX is taking on both Apple and Android users. To which I say:

Good luck with that!

 

[compuguy1088]

What the..... did you not read the article? It worked yesterday, but Rite Aid blocked it....

please read carefully!

Yea, I have a feeling that all of the stores that are working under the Merchant Customer Exchange have it disabled, or *will* disable it. Funny thing is CVS at this point still has nfc enabled.

 

[maclove4life]

It's not "rite" aid it's wrong aid. Although without using apple pay will not kill me it would be nice to have one. Still it's apple gate

 

[tdar]

"As all MCX members are prohibited from accepting Apple Pay, CurrentC mobile payments can have a major impact on Apple Pay."

http://mainstreetinc.net/currentc-mobile-payments-retails-alternative/

Some other MCX retailers probably didn't figure it out yet and haven't turned off the Apple Pay or NFC capability.

Loos like a MCX press release in a POS trade mag. But I still do not think that is definitive proof. We need to see it on a MCX document.

----------

Sounds to me like Apple should block applications on the App store that implement this CurrentC API. They should have standing since the API replicates existing Apple API's in the iOS ecosystem.

Not sure if this is feasible as I am not a programmer or understand the legalities of the App approval process, but it could put a serious damper on the CurrentC model and block millions iOS devices from their "service"

Apple can block the CurrentC app as it duplicates functionality provided in iOS itself as well.

 

[RedOrchestra]

...that is a violation of law.

Did you read that, or just dream it?

 

[Primejimbo]

Apple Pay uses a tokenization standard called EMVCo. It has been around for almost two decades. Apple Pay is designed so it can be implemented via any NFC terminal as long as your card is supported.

Apple Pay does not cost the merchant any additional fee. The amount the merchant already provides to the banks is the same. The banks are giving Apple a little bit of their share of the profits (temporarily I'd bet) because Apple is one of the few companies that can push this new standard.

The downside (for the merchant, at least) is that the token they receive, while looking exactly like the credit card data they are used to getting, is single purpose and always different for each purchase. That means they can't track you automatically via tracking your credit card number. You'll either have to give them personal data whenever you buy something or use a Loyalty Card in addition to Apple Pay.

Rite Aid is part of a group that wants to use a different standard called MCX or CurrentC, which would allow tracking, especially via loyalty cards. It uses a QR code instead of NFC, so won't work with Apple Pay nor with NFC payments, standard on all Android phones.

Yep, MCX is taking on both Apple and Android users. To which I say:
View attachment 507941
Good luck with that!

I was going to say, this is the one thing that will bring us together 😀

 

[compuguy1088]

Credit cards treat ApplePay the same as "Card Present" for fees. Apple had to fight to allow the lower fees which is why ApplePay is a game changer in the NFC payment realm.

I'm not sure if Google Wallet is treated the same though and it might be some of the reason retailers have, in the past, disabled their NFC readers (because Google and ISIS payments were getting dinged for higher fees).

All points aside, Rite Aid disabling Apple Pay probably had nothing to do with the fee structure though.

True. There is a vending machine at my workplace that allows nfc, but specifically blocks mastercard debit cards (nfc *and* magstripe). That prevents google wallet from working, because it uses mastercard debit card numbers (high fees). Apple pay should work on those as long as you don't use a mastercard debit card.

 

[canucksfan88]

I was going to post this but you beat me to it. Technology is truly making people too damn lazy. People don't even want to be bothered to take their credit cards out anymore.

For sure. We truly have become slaves to our technologies

 

[avanpelt]

Not accepting Apple Pay is Rite Aid's prerogative. My choosing not to shop there is mine. No skin off my nose.

 

[Tech198]

This can just be a start...

What if everyone who supported Apple Pay *decide* to no longer support their customers..??

Let the Apple fur fly.. 😀

Meanwhile i wander past with my trusty plastic credit card in hand.

Any thing is expecting hiccups, but Apple Pay would probably have been one to fool users, than a credit system that every bank has used for years suddenly get turned off.

 

[milhouse994]

Not sure if that's original or not, but I am sure that it's wrong. This isn't a bug, and it's not a problem that the store didn't have enough time to implement it. It's simply a (bad) business decision on Rite Aid's part. They have a vested interest in a competing system and they're allowing that to interfere with their core business. It's just plain stupid.

I obviously was unclear in my original post, since this is the third time something thought I was calling Rite Aid's newfound ability to accept Apple Pay a bug. To be clear I'm not. I'm talking about a wider acceptance of Apple Pay in the retail industry. I was simply wondering if the short amount of time between announcement and roll out had any impact on the readiness of the retailers and had given them enough time to know if they wanted to accept it at all.

As several people have pointed it, Rite Aid are in bed with another contactless payment vendor so perhaps their decision wouldn't be affected either way.

 

[Keirasplace]

Thank you for further proving my point about self-entitled iPhone users.

Yeesh, some people think they've above everyone else just because they bought an iPhone. Absolutely astonishing.

So, why on earth are you here if its not to look down on people?

I actually don't go around pissing off people with Android phones, or throlling people no matter who they are were they live. But you do.

If you feel insecure about Apple users having too much money and spending it, well that's your own issue, not everyone elses.

 

[cwt1nospam]

Don Quixote is that you? 😀

Rite Aid chose to join a group of retailers supporting a different initiative. Big deal.

Bolded from your comment: Rite Aid is not a toddler. They are not mis-behaving. They made a business decision that they feel is in their best interest. It's what all business do, including Apple. Time will prove them wrong... or not.

Wrong. They did NOT simply join a different group. They took steps to block a system that worked on theirs so that they could gain at the expense of their customers. Sure, it's a business decision on their part, but it's a very poor one. They're placing an interest in transaction processing at odds with where they make their money. That's just dumb.

Adults can misbehave too, but unlike toddlers, they have to face the consequences when they do. If people want to boycott them for any reason, who are you to say they can't?

 

[spectrumfox]

So, why on earth are you here if its not to look down on people?

I actually don't go around pissing off people with Android phones, or throlling people no matter who they are were they live. But you do.

If you feel insecure about Apple users having too much money and spending it, well that's your own issue, not everyone elses.

Who said anything about how much money people have? That wasn't even part of the conversation, until you brought it up.

 

[pdaholic]

Amazingly? How does that differ than just plain old working? 😛

Haha, true. But after all the hiccups with Apple lately, I was still *amazed* that it worked so smoothly. Not to mention my amazement regarding the whole cardless payment system. It's another evolution in our tech world (yeah I know nfc has been around a while, but it was my first experience).

 

[kdarling]

Credit cards treat ApplePay the same as "Card Present" for fees. Apple had to fight to allow the lower fees which is why ApplePay is a game changer in the NFC payment realm.

Other wallets such as Google and Softcard are also treated as Card Present.

Apple Pay does not cost the merchant any additional fee. The amount the merchant already provides to the banks is the same. The banks are giving Apple a little bit of their share of the profits (temporarily I'd bet) because Apple is one of the few companies that can push this new standard.

I think so, too.

For example, Visa has a global fraud rate of 6 cents per 100 dollars. That's why paying Apple more than double that amount (15 cents) seems much more of a bribe to keep the banks in charge, to use their standard instead of another, and for promoting more spur of the moment purchases, than about possibly having less fraud.

The downside (for the merchant, at least) is that the token they receive, while looking exactly like the credit card data they are used to getting, is single purpose and always different for each purchase. That means they can't track you automatically via tracking your credit card number. You'll either have to give them personal data whenever you buy something or use a Loyalty Card in addition to Apple Pay.

Nitpick: the account token does stay the same on each device.