Apple Pay abruptly dropped by JCPenney, is no longer accepted in store [u]

Posted:
in General Discussion edited April 2019
Struggling retail chain JCPenney has intentionally dropped support for Apple Pay and all other contactless payments sources from all vendors, at least for the time being.




As of this weekend, the department store chain JCPenney no longer accepts payment by Apple Pay either in-store or via its iOS app. The company did not announce that it was ceasing to support the service, but it has confirmed to customers over Twitter that this is an intentional decision rather than the fault of any technical issue.

JCPenney made the decision to remove Apple Pay for our stores, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We will definitely forward your feedback regarding this for review.

-- Ask JCPenney (@askjcp)


However, as it turns out, it is a technical issue. JCPenney has now issued a statement saying that the decision was to cease all contactless payment methods and not solely Apple Pay.

"A third-party credit card brand made the requirement for all merchants to actively support EMV contactless functionality effective April 13," it said, adding that this meant "retiring the legacy MSD contactless technology in place."

"Given the resources and lead time associated with meeting the new mandate, JCPenney chose to suspend all contactless payment options until a later date," said the company's statement. "Customers still have the ability to complete their transactions manually by inserting or swiping their physical credit cards at our point-of-sale terminals in stores, an option employed by the vast majority of JCPenney shoppers."

The suggestion is that Apple Pay and other contactless payment systems are not used by a significant proportion of JCPenney customers. That seems to be borne out if the company ceased accepting them by the April 13 deadline they state, and it was only complained about a week later. It also implies that the company has little incentive to reintroduce Apple Pay or any contactless payments soon.

JCPenney is believed to have first run a pilot program with Apple Pay as long ago as November 2015, but the roll-out to all of its nationwide stores didn't take place until July 2017. The addition of Apple Pay to the JCPenney iOS app happened soon after, and the company has also made its credit card available through Apple's service.

The company has a long and not always successful connection with Apple, having hired away Apple Store creator Ron Johnson in a move to revive the JCPenney chain which failed.

Updated with a statement from JCPenney provided to AppleInsider and other venues.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    markbyrnmarkbyrn Posts: 661member
    Go figure that a company rated F by the Better Business Bureau with mountains of consumer complaints due to poor customer service would remove Apple Pay.
    StrangeDayschiapscooter63chasmlostkiwijbdragonnetmagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 30
    EsquireCatsEsquireCats Posts: 1,268member
    It's an error to reduce the number of payment options in the retail environment. ApplePay has made it possible for people who aren't carrying their wallet (or even their phone) to still shop on a whim. Just earlier, with nothing more than my watch I was able to pick up some groceries, something that would not have been possible if I had to go home and obtain cash or a bank card.
    n2itivguychasmlostkiwiwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 30
    So what's the alternative here? Shop at a more successful retailer that isn't dying in the next couple of years? Okay, got it.
    supadav03chiaJWSCn2itivguypscooter63chasmlostkiwijbdragonnetmagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 30
    They probably want the shopper data back, simple as that.
    lkruppmaltzSolichiaJWSCn2itivguypscooter63chasmlostkiwiknowitall
  • Reply 5 of 30
    Who cares? They’ll be out of business so enough 
    JWSCchasmjbdragonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 30
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    They probably want the shopper data back, simple as that.
    Yup.
    Solin2itivguywatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 30
    They probably want the shopper data back, simple as that.
    Possibly, but how many people use Apple Pay internationally or online at JCPenney?  5%?

    If that’s the reason, bankruptcy is really really close.

    If anyone owns the stock... Sell. Sell. Sell.
    JWSCn2itivguywatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 30
    FolioFolio Posts: 698member
    What irks me more are the smaller guys online who advertise ApplePay upfront, so you fill up a cart, and then it disappears on checkout. I'm not implying intentional bait and switch, but it recently happened to me on nuts.com and globebrands.com. They both inquired by email why I left my cart, and I told them about the disappearing apple logo on checkout.
    space2001matrix077chiaJWSCn2itivguylostkiwibeowulfschmidtwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 30
    FolioFolio Posts: 698member
    A curated "ApplePay mall" could help solve that problem and be a convenience for ecosystem, among other things. Apple could best Amazon at its own ecommerce strength among small vendors.
    n2itivguywatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 30
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    They must be at death’s door. I give them a year or less before they’re out of business.
    JWSCwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 30
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    I avoid shopping at any place that does not accept ApplePay.   Bye-bye Penny's!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 30
    maltzmaltz Posts: 453member
    They probably want the shopper data back, simple as that.
    This.  Honestly, I'm sometimes surprised that Apple Pay is as widely accepted as it is, given that.  Then I remember that it's likely that only a small percentage of iPhone users even use it, and iPhone is only about ~15% of the market itself.  I've never once seen someone other than myself pay with it.  The percentage of all customers paying with Apple Pay is very small, so vendors generate more goodwill by accepting it than they what they lose in customer data.  I wonder how merchants would react if it ever REALLY caught on.
    lostkiwi
  • Reply 13 of 30
    jimh2jimh2 Posts: 611member
    maltz said:
    They probably want the shopper data back, simple as that.
    This.  Honestly, I'm sometimes surprised that Apple Pay is as widely accepted as it is, given that.  Then I remember that it's likely that only a small percentage of iPhone users even use it, and iPhone is only about ~15% of the market itself.  I've never once seen someone other than myself pay with it.  The percentage of all customers paying with Apple Pay is very small, so vendors generate more goodwill by accepting it than they what they lose in customer data.  I wonder how merchants would react if it ever REALLY caught on.
    Part of the reason is that Apple customers typically have and spend money. Just look at the various app stores when compared to the Apple App Store.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 30
    I just started shopping at Target again, after a several year hiatus, now that they accept Apple Pay.. I’m not alone here. Lesson for retailers! Last I checked Wally World didn’t accept it. Has this changed. Can’t understand JCP on this decision.. Some of the smallest stores & shops accept AP - even the tiny pizza place near me (double-edge sword).. oh, well.............
    lostkiwiwatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 30
    There could be a very simple reason:  cost.

    It costs consumers nothing to use Apple Pay.  It may cost the merchant almost nothing for each transactions.  But if JCPenny switched to a 3rd party payment processors that either don't have ApplePay as part of their offerings, or offers ApplePay as a costly add-on.  Maybe Apple Pay will not be ready for another 6 months for this new vendor (OmniPayments) but JCPenny don't want people know about the switch.
    n2itivguypscooter63
  • Reply 16 of 30
    larryjwlarryjw Posts: 1,031member
    What percentage of iPhone users use or would use Apple Pay? I think not very many. The iPhone is a luxury brand. If the owner is 50 or above, they are only comfortable with credit cards, and won't risk new-fangled NFC. If older than 65, they still write checks. Besides NFC systems are not readily available in most places. When available, often the payment service provider the store contracts with doesn't provide Apple Pay, though they promise they do. 

    Further, JCPenney and Ron Johnson parted ways because Johnson's vision for JCP was pretty much orthogonal to the JCP Board. Further, the JCP customer base are not luxury brand buyers. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 30
    Who still shops there anyways…??? Every time I pass by JC Penny’s when at the mall, there’s more employees than customers. Hate to see ppl lose jobs but if they don’t see it coming… 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 30
    Was it really JC Penny's decision to remove Apple Pay or is it related to their impending bankruptcy? The company may not have been able to meet the financial requirements of the service.
    JWSClostkiwi
  • Reply 19 of 30
    larryjw said:
    What percentage of iPhone users use or would use Apple Pay? I think not very many. The iPhone is a luxury brand. If the owner is 50 or above, they are only comfortable with credit cards, and won't risk new-fangled NFC. If older than 65, they still write checks.
    I'm over 50 and I use Apple Pay almost every day. When shopping at Trader Joe's I see lots of people using it as well. I also try and avoid stores that don't support it. As for what percentage of iPhone users use it, I'd bet it's much higher than you think. With companies like McDonald's, Taco Bell, Instacart, etc. offering discounts and freebies for people using their phones for ordering (defaulting to Apple Pay) I think it's only going to become more and more popular over time.

    BTW, according to Google (https://www.google.com/search?q=percentage+of+teens+who+own+iphone) it really doesn't seem like the iPhone is as "Luxury" as you think. If 83% of teens own one it's not likely that they're going to switch platforms when they go off to college or enter the workforce.

    -Laurence
    lovemnpscooter63lostkiwisupadav03netmagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 30
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member

    While a few here might be JCP shoppers, I think the majority of Apple users avoid JCP because it typically targets people in their 70s and 80s who grew up with the store.

    When they hired Ron Johnson they wanted to move the JCP profile to a younger generation because they realized that the loyal generation that had been shopping with them for years was retiring and would have less money to spend.  Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful in attracting a younger generation.  And the changes alienated the once loyal customer base.  My mother was one of those shoppers who did not like the changes Ron Johnson implemented.  So Ron was ushered out and the old ways crept back in again.  JCP is a dead company walking.  Never mind the ApplePay loss.

    pscooter63supadav03watto_cobra
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