Apple Pay returns to Home Depot, grocery chain H-E-B starts to accept it

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Two more retailers are joining the many others that support Apple Pay in the United States, with H-E-B adding and Home Depot quietly returning support to their stores.

Hand holding smartphone above a card terminal, displaying contactless payment with card visible on screen.
Apple Pay



Apple Pay will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of its launch in the United States on October 20. Just in time for the milestone, two more retailers are finally adopting the mobile payments platform in their retail stores.

A press release from the Texas-based H-E-B grocery chain confirms that there will be a phased rollout of digital tap-to-pay services across its 380 outlets. This includes support for Apple Pay, along with Samsung Pay and Google Pay.

Apple Pay will be rolled out across the next week at flagship locations in the San Antonio area. Through October and early November, other stores across Texas will be enabled.

The tap-to-pay support includes all cash registers, self-checkout points, pharmacies, and branded restaurants. While you can't use it at fuel pumps, it will be usable at payment windows.

At the same time, Home Depot is also bringing Apple Pay to its locations. Sources of Appleosophy have previously managed to pay with Apple Pay at some locations.

Home Depot did previously say it had plans to introduce Apple Pay to stores back in 2015. At the time, it was allegedly assessing different mobile payment platforms for use in stores.

Ultimately, Home Depot accepted Apple Pay in stores for a short period of time. But, Apple Pay was eventually killed by the retailer.

It is likely that Home Depot is finally adopting Apple Pay to answer consumer demand, and to keep up with its competitors. Its main rival, Lowes, enabled Apple Pay in its U.S. locations in December 2023.

While many retailers have signed up to take Apple Pay payments, including Kroger in April 2023, not everyone has. The biggest yet to make the transition is Walmart, which went to the trouble of producing Walmart Pay instead of accepting Apple Pay.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    ssfe11ssfe11 Posts: 193member
    Finally for Home Depot! Absolutely luv Apple Pay!
    williamlondonjamnapMplsPgregoriusmiOS_Guy80kiehtansconosciutoStrangeDayszeus423kdupuis77
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  • Reply 2 of 16
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,502member
    It's worth noting that Home Depot did not accept any type of contactless payment options. It wasn't only Apple Pay that wasn't available.
    jamnapgregoriusmForumPostsconosciutowilliamlondonwatto_cobra
     4Likes 0Dislikes 2Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 16
    yyzguyyyzguy Posts: 78member
    mike1 said:
    It's worth noting that Home Depot did not accept any type of contactless payment options. It wasn't only Apple Pay that wasn't available.
    Exactly!  I rarely use Apple Pay because I find tap to pay more convenient.   I’m a regular Home Depot shopper and hoping the machines that accept Apple Pay will also work with regular RFID cards.   I’ll certainly use Apple Pay if needed 
    gregoriusmCrossPlatformFroggerwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
     3Likes 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 4 of 16
    profprof Posts: 123member
    mike1 said:
    It's worth noting that Home Depot did not accept any type of contactless payment options. It wasn't only Apple Pay that wasn't available.
    Of course. Basically the title should read: "Home Depot and H-E-B are finally arriving in the 2020s by adding contactless payments"... which is absolutely ridiculous. Here in Europe you have to search very hard to find a shop that doesn't take (contactless) payments since various radical security improvements over the last couple of years have enforced payment fulfilment providers to replace their card readers a few times and it would be ridiculous to swap outdated technology against slightly less outdated technology without contactless payment support.
    jamnapForumPostsconosciutowilliamlondonchiawatto_cobra
     5Likes 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 5 of 16
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,502member
    prof said:
    mike1 said:
    It's worth noting that Home Depot did not accept any type of contactless payment options. It wasn't only Apple Pay that wasn't available.
    Of course. Basically the title should read: "Home Depot and H-E-B are finally arriving in the 2020s by adding contactless payments"... which is absolutely ridiculous. Here in Europe you have to search very hard to find a shop that doesn't take (contactless) payments since various radical security improvements over the last couple of years have enforced payment fulfilment providers to replace their card readers a few times and it would be ridiculous to swap outdated technology against slightly less outdated technology without contactless payment support.

    Interestingly, in my experience, virtually all small and mid-sized retailers accept contactless payments. Only some of the larger chains, such as HD, have not offered that convenience.
    MplsPsconosciutoStrangeDayswatto_cobra
     4Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 16
    sunman42sunman42 Posts: 352member
    ssfe11 said:
    Finally for Home Depot! Absolutely luv Apple Pay!

    Not long before Apple Pay went live, Home Depot suffered what was for its time an enormous data breach, spilling information from magnetic strips on credit cards (which include names, addresses, dates of birth, and account numbers — everything identity thieves needed to pose as cardholders). I remember trying, on a credit card’s discussion forum, how Apple Pay would prevent spillage of such information, because (1) no unhashed information was passed in the transaction, and (2) no information at all would be communicated to the merchant (where it could eventually be stolen), other than that the issuing bank had approved payment. Walmart, of course, persists in trying to make money off its customers personal information, an antiquated and (to judge by the most recent  antitrust rulings against Alphabet) increasingly illegal business strategy.

    StrangeDayschiawatto_cobra
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  • Reply 7 of 16
    MplsPmplsp Posts: 4,177member
    Well, I'm one customer that has been eschewing Home Depot in favor of Lowes due to their lack of Apple Pay support, so I'll take my infinitesimal bit of credit for this!
    yyzguy said:
    mike1 said:
    It's worth noting that Home Depot did not accept any type of contactless payment options. It wasn't only Apple Pay that wasn't available.
    Exactly!  I rarely use Apple Pay because I find tap to pay more convenient.   I’m a regular Home Depot shopper and hoping the machines that accept Apple Pay will also work with regular RFID cards.   I’ll certainly use Apple Pay if needed 
    Curious how you find tap to pay more convenient? I just wave my watch over the machine and I'm done. If I don't want to use my watch, using my phone is still more convenient that pulling out my wallet, opening it up and grabbing a credit card. Of course that's even more inconvenient now that I never carry my wallet with me!
    gregoriusmForumPostiOS_Guy80kiehtanwilliamlondonStrangeDayschiawatto_cobra
     8Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 16
    rtalatirtalati Posts: 5member
    The most frustrating thing about Home Depot is that a large number of their stores were the first to accept NFC / ApplePay….and then they intentionally disabled it.  
    stompysconosciutowilliamlondonzeus423watto_cobra
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  • Reply 9 of 16
    iOS_Guy80ios_guy80 Posts: 968member
    MplsP said:
    Well, I'm one customer that has been eschewing Home Depot in favor of Lowes due to their lack of Apple Pay support, so I'll take my infinitesimal bit of credit for this!
    yyzguy said:
    mike1 said:
    It's worth noting that Home Depot did not accept any type of contactless payment options. It wasn't only Apple Pay that wasn't available.
    Exactly!  I rarely use Apple Pay because I find tap to pay more convenient.   I’m a regular Home Depot shopper and hoping the machines that accept Apple Pay will also work with regular RFID cards.   I’ll certainly use Apple Pay if needed 
    Curious how you find tap to pay more convenient? I just wave my watch over the machine and I'm done. If I don't want to use my watch, using my phone is still more convenient that pulling out my wallet, opening it up and grabbing a credit card. Of course that's even more inconvenient now that I never carry my wallet with me!
     Pay is a tap to pay function.  Pay is a payment platform.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 10 of 16
    dewmedewme Posts: 6,098member
    The lack of Apple Pay support at Home Depot was never an issue for me. It's the lack of staffing and difficulty getting help that is the main problem. Lowes is even worse. 

    I'm 100% in favor of these stores adding Apple Pay support, especially if it frees them up to focus of what really matters - customer support. 
    zeus423watto_cobra
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  • Reply 11 of 16
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 4,082member
    dewme said:
    The lack of Apple Pay support at Home Depot was never an issue for me. It's the lack of staffing and difficulty getting help that is the main problem. Lowes is even worse. 

    I'm 100% in favor of these stores adding Apple Pay support, especially if it frees them up to focus of what really matters - customer support. 
    Ditto, but for me Ace became the place. They even give an additional 1% cash back when using ApplePay. When I asked an HD clerk when they were going to accept AP, she gave me a dirty look and said “Never!.” That was it for me. Only shop there for things I can’t get at Ace. 
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 12 of 16
    sconosciutosconosciuto Posts: 382member
    iOS_Guy80 said:
    MplsP said:
    Well, I'm one customer that has been eschewing Home Depot in favor of Lowes due to their lack of Apple Pay support, so I'll take my infinitesimal bit of credit for this!
    yyzguy said:
    mike1 said:
    It's worth noting that Home Depot did not accept any type of contactless payment options. It wasn't only Apple Pay that wasn't available.
    Exactly!  I rarely use Apple Pay because I find tap to pay more convenient.   I’m a regular Home Depot shopper and hoping the machines that accept Apple Pay will also work with regular RFID cards.   I’ll certainly use Apple Pay if needed 
    Curious how you find tap to pay more convenient? I just wave my watch over the machine and I'm done. If I don't want to use my watch, using my phone is still more convenient that pulling out my wallet, opening it up and grabbing a credit card. Of course that's even more inconvenient now that I never carry my wallet with me!
     Pay is a tap to pay function.  Pay is a payment platform.
    And consumers and retail employees regularly refer to contactless payment methods as “paying with Apple Pay”. I’d call that a BIG marketing win, but you do you Captain Pedantic.
    edited October 2024
    ihatescreennamesStrangeDayswatto_cobra
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 13 of 16
    tomahawktomahawk Posts: 183member
    robin huber said:

    Ditto, but for me Ace became the place. They even give an additional 1% cash back when using ApplePay. When I asked an HD clerk when they were going to accept AP, she gave me a dirty look and said “Never!.” That was it for me. Only shop there for things I can’t get at Ace. 
    No offense, but a clerk at a store knows diddly about the payment services or plans determined by corporate. You may have gotten a short response because I'm certain the employees are just as annoyed at their employer refusing to accept a modern form of payment as the customers are and they likely get asked about it constantly.
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 14 of 16
    MplsPmplsp Posts: 4,177member
    iOS_Guy80 said:
    MplsP said:
    Well, I'm one customer that has been eschewing Home Depot in favor of Lowes due to their lack of Apple Pay support, so I'll take my infinitesimal bit of credit for this!
    yyzguy said:
    mike1 said:
    It's worth noting that Home Depot did not accept any type of contactless payment options. It wasn't only Apple Pay that wasn't available.
    Exactly!  I rarely use Apple Pay because I find tap to pay more convenient.   I’m a regular Home Depot shopper and hoping the machines that accept Apple Pay will also work with regular RFID cards.   I’ll certainly use Apple Pay if needed 
    Curious how you find tap to pay more convenient? I just wave my watch over the machine and I'm done. If I don't want to use my watch, using my phone is still more convenient that pulling out my wallet, opening it up and grabbing a credit card. Of course that's even more inconvenient now that I never carry my wallet with me!
     Pay is a tap to pay function.  Pay is a payment platform.
    Except the previous poster said “I rarely use Apple Pay because I find Tap to Pay more convenient.” Perhaps you can address the terminology with him. 
    StrangeDayschiawatto_cobra
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 15 of 16
    StrangeDaysstrangedays Posts: 13,215member
    sconosciuto said:
    iOS_Guy80 said:
    MplsP said:
    Well, I'm one customer that has been eschewing Home Depot in favor of Lowes due to their lack of Apple Pay support, so I'll take my infinitesimal bit of credit for this!
    yyzguy said:
    mike1 said:
    It's worth noting that Home Depot did not accept any type of contactless payment options. It wasn't only Apple Pay that wasn't available.
    Exactly!  I rarely use Apple Pay because I find tap to pay more convenient.   I’m a regular Home Depot shopper and hoping the machines that accept Apple Pay will also work with regular RFID cards.   I’ll certainly use Apple Pay if needed 
    Curious how you find tap to pay more convenient? I just wave my watch over the machine and I'm done. If I don't want to use my watch, using my phone is still more convenient that pulling out my wallet, opening it up and grabbing a credit card. Of course that's even more inconvenient now that I never carry my wallet with me!
     Pay is a tap to pay function.  Pay is a payment platform.
    And consumers and retail employees regularly refer to contactless payment methods as “paying with Apple Pay”. I’d call that a BIG marketing win, but you do you Captain Pedantic.
    Yup - I routinely ask if stores accept tap-to-pay, and they always reply, “You mean Apple Pay? Yeah”. That tells you who’s been driving this shift. 
    williamlondonchiawatto_cobra
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 16 of 16
    le studiosle studios Posts: 211member
    I wish Apple get another company for their Apple Pay Cash cause Green Dot Corporation who is currently running it are ruining their business. I had $2,000 worth of transactions Sunday and today they permanently restricted my Apple Pay Cash account. Now I had to turn off Apple Pay Cash on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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