Apple reportedly adds CVS and Walgreens to list of mobile payment partners

Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2014
Less than one week before Apple is expected to announce a new iPhone, and possibly "iWatch," at a special event on Sept. 9, a report on Friday claims the company has inked partnerships with CVS and Walgreens for a rumored mobile payments system debut.

Touch ID


Citing an anonymous source, Re/code reiterated reports that Apple is planning to announce a mobile payments solution at its upcoming media event, adding that CVS and Walgreens are among the initial partners.

While the specifics of the deal went unreported, the publication claims both drug store chains will accept a "new iPhone payment system" at 15,000 combined brick-and-mortar locations. The massive install base would be a major win for Apple, which needs wide consumer adoption for a successful launch.

Apple and Walgreens declined to comment, but a spokesman for CVS claimed no knowledge of the rollout, saying, "We don't know what Apple may be planning in terms of a payment system so it is not possible for us to say whether it is something our stores may be able to accept."

Along with CVS and Walgreens, Apple is also rumored to be in talks with Nordstrom over adoption of the e-wallet solution.

Apple's so-called "iWallet" system is said to rely on near-field communications (NFC), as well as other wireless protocols, to facilitate touch-less purchases at compatible point-of-sale terminals. The next-generation iPhone is expected by some to be the first device to include the functionality, though a report yesterday said the much-rumored "iWatch" may also support the new protocol.

Most recently, a report on Thursday claimed Apple had reached agreements with a number of card-issuing banks for lower transaction fees. Usually, credit card payments processors charge different fees for "card present" and "card not present" transactions, the latter covering touch-less solutions like NFC and barcode readers. Apple supposedly negotiated a "card present" rate for its rumored iWallet, plus an additional discount in return for taking on potential fraud risk.

In addition to banks, credit card companies American Express, Visa and Mastercard are all said to be on board for launch.

AppleInsider will be on hand for Apple's Sept. 9 event and readers can get real-time updates pushed to their iPhone and iPad via the official AppleInsider app.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 66
    I call B.S. as CVS doesn't even use Passbook in their app.
  • Reply 2 of 66

    Nice to know that Apple’s completely nonexistent and unknown platform is fleshing itself out.

     

    I guess it’s better to have a ghost of a person than a ghost of just a skeleton.

     

    Also, given that CVS has already denied it, can we PLEASE FIRE THE ANALYST RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LOVE OF HUMANITY. At the very least, in the future at any mention of his name, we should see: WARNING: THIS PERSON HAS PREVIOUSLY LIED ABOUT PRERELEASE APPLE PRODUCTS appended to it.

  • Reply 3 of 66
    This is funny as I just used my Google Wallet at Walgreens. The cashier was amazed. Told her she'll here about it a lot next week. Driving to Meijer now and will use it there as well.
  • Reply 4 of 66
    And it's CVS Health not CVS
  • Reply 5 of 66
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    pjohnt wrote: »
    I call B.S. as CVS doesn't even use Passbook in their app.

    But Passbook would be for their CVS rewards card. If we're talking NFC we're talking new equipment which CVS may consider worthwhile if they get a discount on the transaction fee.
  • Reply 6 of 66
    pjohnt wrote: »
    I call B.S. as CVS doesn't even use Passbook in their app.

    Don't need Passbook for NFC transactions
  • Reply 7 of 66
    That's not the point. If they haven't adopted Passbook, I seriously doubt they would be an early adopter of payments.
  • Reply 8 of 66
    pjohnt wrote: »
    That's not the point. If they haven't adopted Passbook, I seriously doubt they would be an early adopter of payments.

    All the CVS Health stores I've been at already have a NFC POS. I've used them, so it's already set up.
  • Reply 9 of 66
    SirLance stole my thunder. The Walgreens in my area has the setup for NFC. I bit my tongue on telling them to expect more activity from it, though. It will be interesting to see if there's much of a difference in how its used with Apple's new iWallet service vs the others.
  • Reply 10 of 66
    Currently you have to give your phone to the cashier at Walgreens to scan for the "Balance Card" in PassBook, then take out your credit card to swipe to pay. It would be really nice the both tasks were done at the same time.

    The NFC was not activated all all locations at Walgreens (I was told many months ago.) So they have activated NFC at all locations?
  • Reply 11 of 66



    Awesome...  I use them both.

    Can I pre-order my iPhone 6 & iWatch now?

  • Reply 12 of 66
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member

    I predict Apple payments become overwhelmingly more popular in the USA than Google's.

     

    And I predict that the wearable, if it's released by Apple, will have a decent battery life and a great integrated UI.

  • Reply 13 of 66
    The pharmacist at Walgreens said that he had seen it used, but only a handful of times.
  • Reply 14 of 66
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by PjohnT View Post



    I call B.S. as CVS doesn't even use Passbook in their app.



    Man, all these Apple hating Google fans are out in force tonight. LOL

     

    Google Wallet is crap that's why no one uses it. Plus it was stolen from PayPal.

  • Reply 15 of 66

    Man, all these Apple hating Google fans are out in force tonight. LOL

    Google Wallet is crap that's why no one uses it. Plus it was stolen from PayPal.

    Just how is Google Wallet crap when it's going to work the same way with NFC? Plus, how was it stolen from PayPal when PayPal doesn’t use NFC?
  • Reply 16 of 66
    oh Apple, they're finally catching up with google Wallet which I've been using for years now at CVS, whole foods, home depot, Walgreens and etc.
  • Reply 17 of 66

    yeah they're out in force against the ignorant isheeps whose world revolves iThis and iThat while google has been doing it for years already using the same technology they're about to "innovate" once again 

  • Reply 18 of 66
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SirLance99 View Post



    And it's CVS Health not CVS

    It's starting to make sense why they expedited the removal of cigarettes from their stores a month before schedule and changed name.

  • Reply 19 of 66
    blackbookblackbook Posts: 1,361member

    I believe these "conversations" Apple is "purportedly" having with retailers is more or less about making sure their employees and staff are well trained and prepared to service the millions of Apple iPhone 6 owners that will be storming the stores demanding to use TouchID NFC payments.

     

    As has been said the NFC infrastructure is already there, and I believe Apple's iPhone 6 will be compatible with the existing NFC POS systems. What's lacking is the knowledge of the retail staff at these various places.

  • Reply 20 of 66

    And they all fell in line thereafter...

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