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CVS Pharmacy now accepts Apple Pay
Back in July, Tim Cook revealed that Apple Pay would finally be coming to CVS. And now it's finally happened: You can now use the payment method to purchase items at the popular drugstore chain.
Apple Pay comes to 7-Eleven and CVS later in 2018
Apple Pay is making its way to two of its fiercest opponents. As part of Apple's financial results call, Tim Cook revealed that both 7-Eleven and CVS would introduce support for the tap-to-pay service (and, by extension, equivalents like Google Pay) later in 2018. He also confirmed that Germany would offer Apple Pay by the end of the year. There wasn't any mention of how quickly it would roll out to the two retailers or why they'd changed their mind, but the news likely represents an admission of defeat for the two store chains.
Chase links its payment app to Samsung Pay so you'll actually use it
Do you use Chase Pay for your retail shopping? No? We won't blame you -- its insistence on using QR codes for purchases makes it far less convenient than tap-to-pay services, not to mention less common. Now, however, it's admitting that it needs to get with the times. Chase has introduced an option to link its payment app to Samsung Pay, letting you use either NFC or stripe-simulating MST tech to clinch the deal. It's much easier when you're in a hurry, of course, and makes the Chase Pay app useful in millions more places. Moreover, there's strong financial incentive -- linking the two will help you earn both Chase Ultimate and Samsung reward points, and it should be easier to redeem your Chase points in the process.
Chase Pay's QR code-powered app only works at two stores (updated)
Retailers spent years trying to develop a mobile payment system capable of competing with Apple Pay and Android Pay, and at last, CurrentC has arrived. It's come in the form of the Chase Pay app, which allows customers of the bank to use its QR code-powered transactions at exactly two retailers: Best Buy and Starbucks (Walmart will join the list in 2017). Ever since its unveiling, the system has faced charges that it exists to benefit retailers instead of customers, and there's very little here to make us recommend using it over any other mobile payment service.
Chase hopes you'll use its shopping app instead of Apple Pay
You might think that the future of phone-based shopping belongs to tap-to-pay services like Apple Pay and Android Pay. However, Chase begs to differ. The banking giant has unveiled Chase Pay, a mobile app that uses your credit, debit or prepaid card to make purchases through CurrentC. And yes, that means what you think it does... both good and bad. It'll let you take advantage of loyalty programs and even pay by scanning some receipts, but you'll also have to make many payments by scanning QR codes. As it stands, you'll have to be patient -- Chase Pay won't be available until mid-2016.
Retailers' Apple Pay rival is ready for testing, three years later
Merchant Customer Exchange is an alliance of several of the US' biggest retailers and restaurants, including Wal-Mart and Target, aimed at bringing mobile payments under their own control — and not by tying themselves to a particular tech company. Public tests will finally start in Ohio in the coming weeks, according to the WSJ's sources. Crucially, or hilariously, the tests will start not long after MCX loses its exclusivity deal with retailers. That's why some of them didn't pick up Apple Pay when it launched.
Why Walmart may never accept Apple Pay
When CVS disabled support for Apple Pay a few weeks ago, the result was a PR nightmare for MCX and its in-the-works mobile payment app CurrentC. As a result, MCX executives have effectively been forced to speak up and shed some light on the rules that govern MCX partners. For instance, during an interview with Re/Code last week, MCX CEO Dekkers Davidson explained that the exclusivity period which prevents MCX partners from supporting competing mobile payment platforms expires in "months, not years." We've also since learned that retailers on board the CurrentC bandwagon are not subject to fines should they decide to stop working with MCX. Of course, the optimists amongst us read this as a hopeful hint that CurrentC partners such as CVS and Best Buy might eventually offer support for Apple Pay in the not too distant future. But one retailer that may never support Apple Pay, or at the very least may be the last holdout, is Walmart. For Walmart, it's not about security and it's not about giving CurrentC a chance to breathe. On the contrary, Walmart, despite its ridiculous assertion that it has the best interests of consumers in mind, is laser focused and damn-near obsessed with minimizing costs at every angle. So naturally, Walmart is not a fan in the slightest of the fees it has to fork over on each and every credit card transaction. To that end, Walmart arguably views Apple Pay with disdain, and perhaps dangerous to the extent that Apple's new mobile payment platform might encourage even more consumers to pay with credit cards. Underscoring Walmart's, shall we say, deep frustration with credit cards, Re/Code yesterday published the following video depicting Walmart treasurer Mike Cook aggressively asking Visa's Jim McCarthy a question about Apple Pay and card-present rates. The video is from last week's Money2020 conference. in Las Vegas. Your browser does not support iframes. Re/Code adds: This exchange is noteworthy because it epitomizes the mistrust and disdain between Walmart and the credit card networks. Walmart is convinced that the fees merchants have to pay banks when a credit card is used in their stores is too high. And because the credit card networks are the entities that set the pricing framework for the fees, Walmart and other retailers blame them. While it's easy to jump on Walmart, it's worth noting that they're hardly alone in believing that Visa and MasterCard tend to charge excessive fees for their service. In 2005, a large group of retailers banded together and filed a class action lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard alleging that the two companies conspired together to charge excessive fees. The parties involved ultimately settled for a whopping $6 billion.
CurrentC will soon have to compete directly with Apple Pay
CurrentC -- the Apple Pay competitor which made headlines recently due to CVS and Rite Aid's exclusivity agreements -- will soon have to compete directly with Apple's mobile payment option, according to a recent Re/code interview with Dekkers Davidson, CEO of the Merchant Customer Exchange consortium. No timeframe was given, but Davidson noted that the rule preventing CurrentC merchants from accepting Apple Pay would expire in "months, not years." Davidson claims that MCX had to enforce the rule with CVS and Rite Aid to provide "breathing room" for CurrentC to grow. Unfortunately for MCX, the CurrentC app currently has one of the lowest app review scores of all time, with over 3,300 one-star reviews and just 31 five-star reviews on the App Store, according to App Annie's data. Once CurrentC is forced to compete head-to-head with Apple Pay, it's hard to imagine customer sentiment changing.
Good news Apple Pay fans! MCX confirms that retailers face no fines for leaving CurrentC support behind
In an effort to mitigate the avalanche of criticism stemming from Rite Aid and CVS' decision to disable Apple Pay support, MCX yesterday put up a blogpost to help crystallize what it terms a "misinformed conversation." One notable clarification is that MCX's CurrentC app will, in fact, support payment via credit cards. It remains unclear, though, if this was always the intention or if this is merely a reaction to the recent controversy surrounding Apple Pay. Provide consumers with multiple ways to pay at their favorite merchants, including merchant gift cards, credit cards and debit accounts and personal checking accounts. MCX has plans to add additional forms of payment, including credit cards. Now much has been made of MCX partners being precluded from supporting competing mobile payment platforms. MCX confirms that this is indeed the case, but adds that there are no fines levied if a merchant decides to stop supporting MCX. This is actually great news because it gives retailers the freedom to support Apple Pay in the likelihood that CurrentC fails to gain any traction in the marketplace. MCX merchants make their own decisions about what solutions they want to bring to their customers; the choice is theirs. When merchants choose to work with MCX, they choose to do so exclusively and we're proud of the long list of merchants who have partnered with us. Importantly, if a merchant decides to stop working with MCX, there are no fines. At the same time, keep in mind that retailers who continue to partner with MCX are not free to do as they please. According to a recent report in the New York Times, MCX partners who break exclusivity and offer support for competing mobile platforms such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet face steep fines. MCX did note during a press conference yesterday that Apple Pay support might be allowed "later." As for security, much has been made of the impressively secure mechanisms that govern Apple Pay and the seemingly lax, by comparison, security mechanisms of CurrentC. To that end, MCX's writes: On the data security side, the technology choices we've made take consumers' security into account at every aspect of their core functionality. We want to assure you, MCX does not store sensitive customer information in the app. Users' payment information is instead stored in our secure cloud-hosted network. Removing this sensitive information from the mobile device significantly lowers the risk of it being inappropriately disclosed in a case that the mobile device is hacked, stolen or otherwise compromised. And yet, it appears that CurrentC already seems to have a problem keeping its list of consumer email addresses secure.
Retail's response to Apple Pay and Google Wallet already hacked
If the retailers backing the CurrentC mobile payment system hope to topple NFC-based technology like Apple Pay and Google Wallet, they may need to improve their safeguards for your data. CurrentC is now warning people in its beta program that "unauthorized third parties" (read: hackers) swiped some of their email addresses. While that appears to be the only information at risk, the loss isn't an auspicious sign for a service that's still months away from launch -- especially one that touts privacy and security as "top priorities." It's not clear who's responsible, either, although the platform's architect, the Merchant Customer Exchange, says that it's still investigating the breach. Whatever happened, it's safe to say that the incident underscores one of the main concerns of middleman-based payment systems like CurrentC. Handing sensitive info to in-between providers, no matter how careful they are, leaves you that much more vulnerable to theft.
Another black eye for MCX -- email list for CurrentC breached
Would you trust a contactless payment solution that can't securely store the email addresses of people who have signed up to be included in the service's rollout? MCX, the company pushing the CurrentC touchless payment alternative to Apple Pay and Google Wallet, sent out the security alert above earlier this morning (10/29/14). It went out to those who signed up for announcements about the service, which is currently in a pilot phase and anticipated to launch fully next year. "Within the last 36 hours," the email says, "we learned that unauthorized third parties obtained the e-mail addresses of some of you. Based on investigations conducted by MCX security personnel, only these e-mail addresses were involved and no other information." Oops. This may tarnish the reputation of CurrenC and MCX, which obviously will depend on consumer trust when it launches. MCX is already getting some bad publicity thanks to the shutdown of Apple Pay, Google Wallet and Softcard-capable NFC payment terminals at Rite Aid, CVS, Best Buy and other MCX member retailers. While Apple Pay worked on launch day at some of these retailers, they moved to disable it presumably because of contractual requirements of the MCX consortium. Ironically, the MCX website has a current blog post addressing some of the criticisms of the platform and talking up the solution's security model. 12:30pm ET 10/29: Updated with further details.
A group of retailers can't support Apple Pay due to contract with rival tech
When CVS and Rite-Aid shut off their NFC-based payments to prevent customers from using Apple Pay, we heard it was because they're part of a large group developing rival technology CurrentC. Now, The New York Times has shed more light on the issue, and it turns out they did it not just to stifle the competition, but also because they're contractually obligated not to offer Apple Pay in their stores. The whole Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) group, including these two drug stores and big-box retailers Walmart and Best Buy, signed a contract years ago that binds them to Current C. That contract, signed way before anyone knew if Apple Pay was ever going to materialize, prevents them from supporting rival technologies, as doing so will earn them outrageous fines.
Apple responds to the Rite Aid, CVS debacle in a very 'Apple' way
Apple is a company of actions, not words. Even when Tim Cook takes the stage to talk about how great his company is, it's always about the here and now, not empty promises about the future. Apple's official response regarding the refusal of Rite Aid and CVS to support Apple Pay -- the company's newly launched NFC payment system -- is deliciously "Apple" in that very same way. Provided to Business Insider, the statement reads: The feedback we are getting from customers and retailers about Apple Pay is overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic. We are working to get as many merchants as possible to support this convenient, secure and private payment option for consumers. Many retailers have already seen the benefits and are delighting their customers at over 220,000 locations. In case you're having some trouble reading between the lines, let me translate that for you: Dear Rite Aid/CVS, People are already in love with Apple Pay and it doesn't matter if you don't like it. CurrentC is a disaster -- no, seriously, it has a 1-star rating with over 1,200 reviews -- and the only ones you're hurting by refusing to support our payment system is your own customers. Oh, and Walgreens already accepts Apple Pay, so you can either fall in line or make a nice little shanty over there on the wrong side of tech history. Love, Apple
A closer look at CurrentC: The reason why CVS and Rite Aid are disabling Apple Pay support
Over the weekend, CVS disabled NFC support on its POS machines at all of its nationwide store locations, effectively blocking out support for NFC-based mobile payment solutions like Apple Pay and Google Wallet in the process. Together, CVS and Rite Aid are the first two stores who have taken pro-active measures to disable support for Apple Pay after customers had already began using the payment platform there successfully. Unfortunately, they may not be the last. As we've indicated previously, the impetus for CVS and Rite Aid's decision to disable Apple Pay (and any other mobile payment platform for that matter) stems from their support of CurrentC. CurrentC is an upcoming mobile payments platform developed by a company called Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX). MCX enjoys the backing of a number of top tier retailers, including Walmart, Best Buy, CVS, 7-Eleven, and dozens more. But just what is CurrentC, exactly? Moreover, does it pose a legitimate competitive threat to Apple Pay? To help answer those questions, Josh Constine of TechCrunch over the weekend took an in-depth look at CurrentC and provides us with a number of previously unknown details surrounding the competing payment platform. With respect to stores like CVS and Rite Aid disabling support for Apple Pay, that stems from contractual obligations MCX members have made not to support competing mobile payment platforms. In January 2013, Fierce Retail reported MCX had been asking retailers in 2012 to pay a big upfront fee from $250,000 to $500,000 to get on board, and sign three-year mobile payment app exclusivity deals with MCX. Retailers who signed up may have had a one-year grace period from the start of their exclusivity contract to bail out of the deal. If Apple Pay gains steam early, some retailers might look to take advantage of this option to ditch MCX. However, if deals were signed in 2012, that grace period is long gone but retailers may be coming up on the end of their exclusivity agreements even though CurrentC hasn't launched yet. Well, so much for open competition and giving consumers the option to choose how they'd like to pay for items. And while Apple Pay was designed to be a completely seamless, intuitive, and unobtrusive process, CurrentC sounds like a usability nightmare. Instead of relying upon NFC and credit cards, CurrentC relies upon QR codes and is linked to a user's checking account. Yep, you read that correctly... QR codes. When it's time for a user to check out, they request to pay with CurrentC. The consumer then unlocks their phone, opens the CurrentC app, opens the code scanner, and scans the QR code shown on the cashier's screen. In some case, the reverse may happen where the consumer's CurrentC app displays a payment code and the cashier scans it. If a QR code can't be generated, a manually entered numeric code may be offered. Rather than sending the customer's financial data over the air, transactions trigger the transmission of a token placeholder. This is then securely converted by the financial institution to process the ACH payment and charge the user. MCX will likely position CurrentC as a mobile payment platform designed to provide customers with greater access to in-store discounts and loyalty rewards programs. While true, make no mistake about the true aim of CurrentC; giving retailers more control of and access to shopper information and buying habits. CurrentC notes it may share info with your device maker, app store, or developer tool makers. Oddly, it will collect health data. Precise location information is used to verify you're at the retailer where you're making a transaction, and if you opt in it can be used for marketing or advertising. And if that weren't enough, CurrentC requires users to enter in their drivers licence number and social security number. The following photo was taken straight from CurrentC's support website. Taking a look at Constine's full article, it's truly hard to fathom any scenario in which CurrentC actually gains traction with consumers. Especially when measured against the consumer-oriented Apple Pay, CurrentC, both in design and in operation, appears to be more appealing for big time retailers than for actual consumers. This brewing battle between competing mobile payment platforms may play out rather slowly. CurrentC isn't slated to go live until early 2015 and it'll likely be a few good months before we can accurately gauge the potential long-term impact Apple Pay will have on the marketplace. Maybe Apple Pay will revolutionize mobile payments. Maybe it won't. But it's hard to imagine CurrentC, despite its support from big name retailers, having any sort of widespread impact on mobile payments. If anything, the recently released details of CurrentC only serve to highlight how much more compelling and user-friendly Apple Pay is. Comically, the CurrentC app on iTunes already has a solid 1-star rating. One reviewer writes: This app would only provide me with less security and less convenience. Marketed as a better solution than carrying around credit cards, it then lists features that are worse than any card I've ever heard. I don't want my checking account information (yes they want to be directly linked to your bank) and for some reason health data out in some retailer's cloud systems. One star is too good for this thing. And policies around stores using this payment system lock out any other mobile friendly ways of paying, like anything that uses NFC, for no other reason than that they can't track data on you as well if you don't use their system. That locks out things like Google wallet and Apple Pay. Here's a novel idea, take my money however I want to hand it you when I want to pay for something. If you don't want my money, well, I guess good luck with that business model. This app and the incorporated system symbolizes the epitome of not realizing anything about consumers' rights or wants to the point of actually being the opposite of what the people want. Hear, hear. For an additional take on CurrentC, make sure to check out a great piece from Rich Mogull over at TidBITS.
Drug stores drop Apple Pay and Google Wallet to push their own payment tech
If you're bent on using Apple Pay or Google Wallet for your shopping, you may have to be finicky about your choice of drug stores. Both CVS and Rite Aid have shut off their support for NFC-based payments just days after Apple Pay went live. Try to tap your phone and you'll get an error, or nothing at all. The companies haven't publicly discussed why they're cutting off the handy feature, but this is ultimately an attempt to stifle competition. Both pharmacies are part of the Merchant Customer Exchange, a retailer group whose its own QR code-based mobile wallet system (CurrentC) reaches these stores in 2015. As a memo obtained by SlashGear suggests, they'd rather deny all NFC payments than risk building support for rivals, particularly when they don't eliminate credit card fees like CurrentC does. Suffice it to say that this will be very inconvenient if you're a frequent customer, and you'll currently have to visit the likes of Duane Reade and Walgreens if you want to avoid paying with old-fashioned cash or plastic. [Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
