Your opinion on Rite Aid and CVS removing NFC payments

neurodave

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Sep 24, 2013
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Just wondering how everyone feels about this move by both retailers and their push for the rather unimpressive "CurrentC" payment system.

The general consensus seems to be that it's a rather negative move on their part, and many people seem to be choosing to move their business to Walgreens.

I personally find Rite Aid a dying brand and CVS is pretty outdated itself. I only shop either one when I absolutely must. Now that they've taken the hostile decision to remove Apple Pay and the likes, I think it's safe to say I won't even be going for small things.

And no, not because they don't have Apple Pay but rather the WHY they removed it. They don't seem to fond of the privacy side of Apple Pay which in turn means they can't have your personal information or the ability to track your shopping habits.

What's everyone else's thoughts? They enabled the system for a few days and then gave us all a big "JAY KAY."
 
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calebt

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Sep 28, 2013
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Sucks, Rite Aid and McDonalds are the only business in my town to accept Apple Pay.


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nr2d

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I don't use CVS but I do use RiteAid. I think it is stupid on their part to reject Apple Pay. From what I read they both are going to use either their own E-Pay system or another E-Pay supplier. It looks to me as just another way they can make money on their own. I don't think it has anything to do with keeping your privacy protected. Not that Apple Pay is a cure-all but there are sure a lot of retailers and banks signing up. I hope they both release the error of their ways and will soon adopt Apple Pay.
 

ame

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Feb 17, 2011
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I have a feeling that they'll come crawling back if they're the only ones doing it.

I don't have RiteAid here and I almost never go to CVS anyway, so it's no real loss for me.
 

rayz336

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I rarely go to either of them and I don't see this as a big deal for me given the lack of both chains in my area
 

joemd60

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In my opinion, it's not very good business decision making.
If you cannot evolve with technology, loyalty won't mean much.
For me, it doesn't matter, My health insurance when needed is tied into CVS for prescriptions, So I don't have a choice.
But others may shop elsewhere out of general principle.
I agree with the OP on his theory with all these stores. The Rite Aid where I live phased out.
 
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nj1266

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Jun 24, 2011
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There are two ways that CurrentC can be undermined:

1. Apple and Google will remove the app from their respective app stores. That will effectively kill it. Stick a fork in CurrentC it is done.

2. The banks will start charging merchants similar fees to use ACH that they currently charge them for the use of CC. There goes the slim profits that merchants want by side stepping CC use.

Apparently, these stupid merchants have not heard of the concept of reciprocity. In a free market and a free society two actors can equally inflict pain on each other by using similar tactics.

If I am Tim Cook, I will get the CEO of Google on the phone and agree on the removal of CurrentC from both app stores.
 

sanibel

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Much of us here own Apple products so we drum-up support for our (beloved) Apple. Truth is, America is the capital of capitalism which, rightly so, infuses competition. Case in point: The likes of Walmart, Kmart, 7-Eleven and Best Buy who are in direct competition with Apple Pay. Through a joint venture formed in 2012, are building their own mobile payment app, called CurrentC. In the meantime, these retailers have no intention to support Apple Pay. Additionally, Rite Aid and CVS will support CurrentC on launch next year.
 

nj1266

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Jun 24, 2011
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I am sorry but this is not capitalism. This is collusion among a few actors in the marketplace to subvert innovation. Capitalism is about individual buyers and sellers meeting in the marketplace and using freely accessible tools to exchange goods.

What these bad actors are doing is to subvert technological innovation in order to save a few bucks and add to their profits and to mine my data for marketing purposes.

If they were really interested in the free market then they would let BOTH NFC and CurrentC stand and would allow the users to decide which one to use.

As I understand it, CurrentC is old tech and is not user friendly at all. It requires far more steps to use than AP NFC or even Google Wallet. Second, using my ACH account rather than my CC to purchase goods does not afford me the needed fraud protection.

If anything, this practice is anti competitive and should be investigated by the FTC.
 

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