Walgreens Gearing Up for Apple Pay-Linked Loyalty Rewards Cards

[MacRumors]

One of the Apple Pay features touted with iOS 9 was support for new types of cards including store-branded credit cards and loyalty rewards cards from retailers. Just yesterday, department store chain Kohl's became the first retailer to launch Apple Pay support for its store-branded credit card, and it now appears Walgreens is preparing to launch support for its Balance Rewards loyalty rewards program.

Balance Rewards members have for some time been able to sign into their rewards accounts using the Walgreens iOS app and add their Balance Rewards numbers to the centralized Passbook/Wallet app. From there, it's been easy for users to bring up the Walgreens pass to display barcodes that can be scanned at checkout to make sure they receive rewards credit for their purchases.

As noted by several MacRumors readers, however, the Balance Rewards card in the Wallet app is now showing up as supporting NFC via Apple Pay. Double-clicking the iPhone home button to bring up Apple Pay cards offers access to the Balance Rewards pass, where the user is then prompted to authenticate with Touch ID and hold the phone near the NFC terminal at the register. Users can also opt to show a barcode for scanning if needed.

While the interface on the iPhone shows all signs of being ready to use Walgreens Balance Rewards via NFC, we and several readers have been unable to successfully use it in-store, as it appears Walgreens' payment terminals have yet to be upgraded to accept Balance Rewards using that method. In our testing yesterday, attempting to transmit a Balance Rewards card to the terminal via Apple Pay simply generated an error on the terminal noting the system was requesting a method of payment.

Walgreens Balance Rewards is also showing up as an Apple Pay option on the Apple Watch. Double clicking the side button of the Apple Watch to bring up available payment cards shows a Walgreens card that appears ready to use via NFC but similarly is not accepted by the terminal.

A barcode option as seen when the Walgreens pass is accessed directly from the Apple Watch's Wallet app is also available through the Apple Pay mechanism, although the overall presentation of the Walgreens card feels unfinished as it requires scrolling to access the barcode button via Apple Pay.

Late yesterday, Walgreens announced it plans to acquire rival Rite Aid in a deal that is expected to close in about a year to combine the largest and third-largest pharmacy chains in the United States. Rite Aid will initially operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Walgreens with its own branding, although the two brands are likely to fully integrate over time.

Walgreens was a launch partner for Apple Pay payments back in 2014, but Rite Aid famously held out due to its contractual obligations with competing payments platform MCX/CurrentC, even going as far as to disable existing NFC payment support to prevent customers from using Apple Pay in its stores. Rite Aid reversed course in August as its exclusivity with CurrentC ended, adding support for Apple Pay in its stores.

Article Link: Walgreens Gearing Up for Apple Pay-Linked Loyalty Rewards Cards

 

[Markoth]

Great! Now my credit union has to stop dragging its feet and implement ApplePay already. It's more than a little frustrating.

 

[sikachu]

Hmm ... Walgreens is known to not always enable NFC reader from the start of the order (the NFC light only comes up after cashier hit finish IIRC) so I wonder how the usage flow would be though. Will they now always enable the NFC reader?

I guess there's only one way to find out. I'll give it a week or so, though.

 

[SteveLV702]

mine mine isn't showing up :-(

 

[lsutigerfan1976]

I'm confused. When I go to Walgreens my balance reward card is already in my wallet app. I just scan it there when they ask for my rewards card. So how is this different than what I have been doing?

 

[sikachu]

mine mine isn't showing up :-(

I had to remove the pass, then re-added the pass from Walgreens app. My old pass had white background, and new pass now have Walgreens-blue background.

I'm confused. When I go to Walgreens my balance reward card is already in my wallet app. I just scan it there when they ask for my rewards card. So how is this different than what I have been doing?

In theory, you will be able to just scan the card by tapping it to the NFC terminal (the blue thingie) and not having to bring up the card in wallet, etc etc.

 

[WildCowboy]

I'm confused. When I go to Walgreens my balance reward card is already in my wallet app. I just scan it there when they ask for my rewards card. So how is this different than what I have been doing?

It's not all that different. Instead of scanning a barcode on the Walgreens card in the Wallet app, you'll be able to pull it up in Apple Pay and register it via NFC.

Not a huge timesaver, unless like me yesterday you run into a cashier who refuses to scan your barcode and makes you type in your phone number on the PIN pad.

 

[enthusiastic]

I'm confused. When I go to Walgreens my balance reward card is already in my wallet app. I just scan it there when they ask for my rewards card. So how is this different than what I have been doing?

There is no scanning involved in this case. You use this rewards card like you would a credit card.

 

[Jim L]

I've been using Apple Pay there for a while.

Now it looks like they're expanding, buying Rite Aid.

All good.

 

[0815]

glad to hear that in the combination with the news that Walgreens is buying Rite-Aid (since I didn't have a Walgreen nearby but Rite-Aid everywhere and I am just fed up with the anti apple-Pay attitude from Rite-Aid, even now they officially support it, it seems never to work there)

 

[iKor]

So they are rolling out these one at a time?

store credit cards - KOHLS

store reward cards - Walgreens

Wouldn't it make sense to launch them both together, and at multiple stores?

KOHLS has a reward card, if they partnered up why didn't they do the store card and reward card?

Strange.

 

[budselectjr]

I had to remove the pass, then re-added the pass from Walgreens app. My old pass had white background, and new pass now have Walgreens-blue background.

You can also bring up the pass, hit the "i" in the lower right corner, and pull down to update the pass.

 

[BruiserB]

Ideally I'd just want to authenticate and tap once to pay with whatever credit card I choose. To be a seamless experience, ApplePay on my phone should be able to automatically know I'm at Walgreens and send both the credit card and loyalty info with one authentication and tap. If I have to select loyalty card then apply fingerprint and tap and then select my payment card and re-apply fingerprint and tap, then this isn't really a convenience or time savings.

 

[iKor]

Ideally I'd just want to scan once to pay with whatever credit card I choose. To be a seamless experience, ApplePay on my phone should be able to automatically know I'm at Walgreens and send both the credit card and loyalty info with one authentication and tap. If I have to select loyalty card then apply fingerprint and tap and then select my payment card and re-apply fingerprint and tap, then this isn't really a convenience or time savings.

Quicker then having to dig through your purse or wallet to pull out each card though. so slightly more convenient, which can be made more convenient?

 

[0815]

So they are rolling out these one at a time?

store credit cards - KOHLS

store reward cards - Walgreens

Wouldn't it make sense to launch them both together, and at multiple stores?

KOHLS has a reward card, if they partnered up why didn't they do the store card and reward card?

Strange.

Kohls Finance and Kohls Rewards are probably two different departments in the same company - big cooperate is slow and not working well together between the internal departments. In this case, Finance might be even a different company that just stamps Kohls name on it (don't know the details) .... but I didn't expect anything better from big cooperate.

 

[TheAnimal]

Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

Ideally I'd just want to authenticate and tap once to pay with whatever credit card I choose. To be a seamless experience, ApplePay on my phone should be able to automatically know I'm at Walgreens and send both the credit card and loyalty info with one authentication and tap. If I have to select loyalty card then apply fingerprint and tap and then select my payment card and re-apply fingerprint and tap, then this isn't really a convenience or time savings.

 

[JAT]

These cards are why I refuse to shop at Walgreens. Lots of places sell medical items and have a pharmacy.

 

[DaveTheRave]

In theory, you will be able to just scan the card by tapping it to the NFC terminal (the blue thingie) and not having to bring up the card in wallet, etc etc.

So you'll have to tap it twice? Once for the reward card, and again to pay? Or does this combine the two into one action?

 

[iKor]

Kohls Finance and Kohls Rewards are probably two different departments in the same company - big cooperate is slow and not working well together between the internal departments. In this case, Finance might be even a different company that just stamps Kohls name on it (don't know the details) .... but I didn't expect anything better from big cooperate.

I guess it makes sense. but you'd think with the big emphasis they put on both cards they would want them both on you know "APPLE PAY" "APPLE WALLET".

Also OT: but in the Kohls store they announce how to add the card to your wallet, and how they now accept apple pay.

 

[Studioman]

It's not all that different. Instead of scanning a barcode on the Walgreens card in the Wallet app, you'll be able to pull it up in Apple Pay and register it via NFC.

Not a huge timesaver, unless like me yesterday you run into a cashier who refuses to scan your barcode and makes you type in your phone number on the PIN pad.

I usually don't give them an option to scan it. I just put my card infront of the reader myself. This will keep me from taking my card out since I'm using Apple Pay anyway.

 

[Jeff Meredith]

So they are rolling out these one at a time?

store credit cards - KOHLS

store reward cards - Walgreens

Wouldn't it make sense to launch them both together, and at multiple stores?

KOHLS has a reward card, if they partnered up why didn't they do the store card and reward card?

Strange.

Presumably when you use your Kohls Credit card you automatically get the rewards.

They are two different companies and two different implementations. Walgreens is Rewards only, no payment and Kohl's is payment and rewards.

Both represent common but different possible use scenarios for the future.

Rewards Card; Panera, StarBucks, Whole Foods ...

Payment & Rewards: Macy's, Target Red Card, JC Penney's, Sears.

 

[TheAnimal]

Just added my rewards card to passbook and when doing so, you're given an option to have it automatically selected when in a Walgreens store. So in theory, when I walk up to the cashier and open up Wallet, the Walgreens card should already be selected. No need to navigate to it.

I usually don't give them an option to scan it. I just put my card infront of the reader myself. This will keep me from taking my card out since I'm using Apple Pay anyway.

 

[HenryDJP]

Hmm ... Walgreens is known to not always enable NFC reader from the start of the order (the NFC light only comes up after cashier hit finish IIRC) so I wonder how the usage flow would be though. Will they now always enable the NFC reader?

I guess there's only one way to find out. I'll give it a week or so, though.

I've never experienced this. I frequent Walgreens around the corner from home and use Apple Pay. Never had an issue or noticed any delay.

 

[ptb42]

These cards are why I refuse to shop at Walgreens.

Over time, you can save quite a bit of money. You get points for filling a prescription, and if you let them build up, you can get quite a bit back.

However, we don't shop at Walgreen's as much these days, because my insurance company requires that "maintenance" prescriptions must be 90-day, and filled either via mail order or at a CVS. But, CVS has their own rewards program.

 

[iKor]

Presumably when you use your Kohls Credit card you automatically get the rewards.

They are two different companies and two different implementations. Walgreens is Rewards only, no payment and Kohl's is payment and rewards.

Both represent common but different possible use scenarios for the future.

Rewards Card; Panera, StarBucks, Whole Foods ...

Payment & Rewards: Macy's, Target Red Card, JC Penney's, Sears.

Well that would make sense with the kohls charge, cause the first time you use your charge with the reward card its "supposed" to link. But not if you dont use the kohls charge.

IDK I have a bunch of reward cards that I want to get rid of and stored in my phone D: