Rite Aid Disables Apple Pay Support After Initially Accepting Payments

[Diode]

I've read and been told that a terminal doesn't need to have an Apple Pay sticker on it for Apple Pay to work. It just needs to have the contactless payments icon (below) to work. So...is that not actually the case?

The case is Rite Aid completely disabled ALL NFC/Contactless payments to push their own payment system (which I think uses a barcode/quickcode displayed on the phone and not NFC). You can't block just Apple Pay as it uses NFC standards. It's all or nothing.

 

[NachoGrande]

Please go back to using your checkbook.

Nope, But I will continue to use my credit card though. It has worked for the last 20 years and never had a "hiccup" and I never looked like a tool waving my phone over a POS and nothing happens.

 

[gnasher729]

I've read and been told that a terminal doesn't need to have an Apple Pay sticker on it for Apple Pay to work. It just needs to have the contactless payments icon (below) to work. So...is that not actually the case?

It _is_ the case. To reject Apple Pay, they need to turn off MFC support, so no contactless cards are going to work at all. Maybe they didn't know that their terminals had MFC, and only figured out after iPhone users turned up and used it, and then they turned it off...

 

[DaveClarkOne]

it just works.

Go away Troll.

 

[Jason83]

This is probably not an original thought and has been said elsewhere on this forum already.

But it seems to be that part of the problem with this rollout, is the short amount of time between announcement and deployment. Apple usually gives advance notice on big framework changes, for example giving developers a few months lead on new version of OS's so they can start creating apps in time for launch. Because of their need for secrecy with the launch of phones, the addition of NFC antennas on the iPhone 6's and therefore by extension Apple Pay was kept under wraps.

I just wonder if Apple had given a three to four month lead between announcement and deployment if some of this bugs would be worked out. Big Companies tend to move pretty slowly, so it's no surprise to me that Rite Aid didn't realise what was going on until people were actually using Apple Pay in their stores before they turned it off.

They moved pretty quickly to disable it though...

 

[Peace]

Merchant Customer Exchange is the brainchild of a marketing and advertising company.

http://www.inkhouse.net

 

[gnasher729]

As is their right.

And customers have the right to complain. Which they will.
And customers have the right to shop elsewhere. Which they will.

 

[doelcm82]

Please, everyone get over yourselves for saying, "Guess I won't be shopping there..."

If it's around the corner and you need to pick something up, you sure as hell will be shopping there in a few weeks.

Walgreens is right around the corner for me, but I found myself going out of my way for CVS, because I had a CVS loyalty card. Since Apple Pay was introduced, I obtained a Walgreens loyalty card.

Apple Pay isn't the only criterion I use to decide where to shop, but it will influence my choice. One funny thing about big chain drug stores. When you find one, there's usually another one within spitting distance.

 

[zorinlynx]

>because Rite Aid is a supporter of the upcoming CurrentC payments system from Merchant Customer Exchange

What I don't get is..

Why can't stores just support BOTH? Is it that hard?

 

[J4B3]

You know I didn't think I was going back to iOS after Jobs passed, I was plenty happy with Android at the time. The thing that pulled me back is actually Apple's privacy policy. Automatic encryption, non-held keys, anonymized transaction data, locally stored tokens. I was tired of feeling like I'm being tracked and seeing ads for something that I casually looked up on Google. You know what Rite Aid, FU. MCX has one of the worst privacy policies I've ever seen and I don't want a company profiting from my private transaction data. My business goes elsewhere.

/endrant

 

[NachoGrande]

And customers have the right to complain. Which they will.
And customers have the right to shop elsewhere. Which they will.

I really don't think people will shop elsewhere simply because they don't accept Apple Pay.. Well at least an significant amount of people that is.

 

[rweavere]

If you are going to shop at Rite Aid and want to use ApplePay just try to use it every time you pay and make it an inconvenience.

If it annoy's enough people, eventually people will talk and things will change.

If they are actively denying the charges then I'm sure they're tracking how many denials they are making. If the number is great enough, they'll choose Apple Pay over that other system.

 

[loanhighknight]

I used it about an hour ago at a Rite Aid down the road from my office, no issues at all. Didn't have to sign, paid and left.

Yeah, this whole story seems fishy to me. I'm going to try it at the one near me on my way home tonight--assuming this story hasn't been debunked by then.

I can see literally no reason whatsoever that Rite-Aid would feel compelled to do this, even with MCX maybe-sorta-someday becoming thing. Convenience stores have ALWAYS operated on the "more ways to pay = more customers" formula--this would be a major departure from that.

 

[peteo]

I rather shop at CVS anyway.. Worked every time thus far and all their stores have new payment readers.

It works @ CVS? They are not on the launch list.

if so i'll be using it there (already have used it at walgreens and it works great)
With all the hacks going around no need for any of these companies to get my credit card #

 

[Aragornii]

Nope, But I will continue to use my credit card though. It has worked for the last 20 years and never had a "hiccup" and I never looked like a tool waving my phone over a POS and nothing happens.

There's been a bunch of times my credit card hasn't worked, because I travel a lot domestically and abroad which sets off the fraud detection system. (Make a charge in Dallas one day and NYC the next, and you'll find yourself with a card that's suddenly not working). The reason for this inconvenience is the insecure plastic credit card swipe and sign system in the US. With Apple Pay, all that fraud and hassle goes away.

 

[Diode]

It *was* the case, and it did work. Until retailers coded in specific blocks.

Take it up with ****** retailers who want to track your credit account number.

You can't block just one form of NFC payment. You either entirely disable contactless NFC payments or leave them on.

The CurrentC payment Rite Aid pushes doesn't use NFC.

 

[Blue Fox]

Wow, this thread is a perfect microcosm of the Internet -- uninformed opinions given by dolts who can't even be bothered to read the article they're offering their uninformed opinions on.

Exactly. But it's not just on this thead, it's pretty much all threads on here. This site just attracts people that believe their uneducated opinions matter.

 

[TimothyB]

By law it is illegal to turn down US currency at any US business. I think the US ought to pass a new law stating that if the business has an NFC terminal that they must accept all forms of NFC payment (Google Wallet, Apple Pay, etc.).

Isn't it only illegal for debt owed? A store can choose any kind of payment they want since its for a new purchase, not pay off some previous debt they are holding against you. Like if you owed $10 on a credit card and walked into their office to pay the $10 off, they would have to accept the U.S. currency to resolve that debt.

 

[Lepton]

I went to Walgreens yesterday and bought something just so I could use ApplePay. Today I read Rite Aid was taking it and was about to go until I came upon this thread. But I also read CVS takes ApplePay, so I'm going to buy something there now. There are a lot more CVS stores around here than Rite Aids or Walgreens anyway.

Rite Aid's problem is not about fees or Apple, but as the article says they signed up with a competing pay service that probably has a provision saying not to allow competitors services. It's the same reason WalMart and Best Buy don't take ApplePay. I'll bet the second their contracts are up, they will go with it. Let's hope it is soon, for their sakes.

A tip I discovered, if you want an app that shows where contactless payments are accepted, try "MasterCard Nearby".

 

[AspectRatio]

Are you serious?

Load up a cart at the offending (non-ApplePay) merchant and go to checkout.

When they say,

"Oh, we don't support ApplePay."

You say,

"Cancel the sale. I'll shop somewhere else."

If everyone does this, merchants will quickly get the picture and throng to get on-board.

Please, please, don't do this. Don't be that guy.

The cashier and the store clerks earn $15/hour, maybe. Please remember that.

The $300 you dropped on an iPhone 6 so you could save 5 seconds at the check stand does not entitle you to be a world-class prick.

Stop trying to make Apple Pay into a human rights issue.

 

[jlee24219]

Please, everyone get over yourselves for saying, "Guess I won't be shopping there..."

If it's around the corner and you need to pick something up, you sure as hell will be shopping there in a few weeks.

Actually not the case. In my city, at least the parts I inhabit, I could throw a rock from every rite aid to the wallgreens across the street. I'll be more than happy to just turn right instead of left.

 

[gnasher729]

I used my Amex card at Kroger in Dallas the night before last. They didn't seem to have device to accept Apple Pay or any NFC payments. Later that night I noticed a charge pop up for $1 from FedEx Office somewhere in Louisiana. Since I have that as my iTunes default card and on my Apple Pay, the charge showed up as an alert on my phone. It hadn't posted yet, so I flagged it to alert me when it did. A few minutes later, I get a call from Amex, which had denied a charge for $53 at a Shell station in LA.

Say that again... You have a card that is set up as your default card for Apple Pay, and when the card is used (apparently by a criminal far away, but probably also if you use it yourself without Apple Pay), it can pop up an alert on your phone? So you know at all times when your card is used?

 

[Padmini]

Guess where I'm not shopping?

These retailers need to wake up in a hurry.

 

[NachoGrande]

There's been a bunch of times my credit card hasn't worked, because I travel a lot domestically and abroad which sets off the fraud detection system. (Make a charge in Dallas one day and NYC the next, and you'll find yourself with a card that's suddenly not working). The reason for this inconvenience is the insecure plastic credit card swipe and sign system in the US. With Apple Pay, all that fraud and hassle goes away.

Sure, all you have to do is make sure you shop at a place with NFC that works. Also, my fraud protection occasionally goes off. I get a text message I respond and it instantly turns off... no worries at all.

 

[Jason83]

And customers have the right to complain. Which they will.
And customers have the right to shop elsewhere. Which they will.

Not only that, $RAD is a publicly traded company and they have a duty to their shareholders to not do stupid things to jeopardize business.