Target, Hy-Vee add Apple Pay

Target and Hy-Vee are among the latest merchants to adopt Apple Pay, Apple Inc.’s contactless mobile payment system.

Apple said yesterday that Hy-Vee’s more than 245 stores in the Midwest now offer Apple Pay to customers. Meanwhile, Target has begun deploying the digital payment system and expects to complete the rollout to all of its 1,850 stores in the coming weeks.

Also ushering in Apple Pay are Speedway convenience stores and Taco Bell and Jack In The Box fast-food restaurants. Speedway has launched Apple Pay at about 3,000 stores across the Midwest, East Coast and Southeast, Apple said, while plans call for the payment tool to be implemented at over 7,000 Taco Bell and 2,200 Jack in the Box locations during the next several months.

Apple noted that, with the addition of these new retailers, 74 of the top 100 U.S. merchants and 65% of all retail locations nationwide will support Apple Pay.

“Whether customers are buying everyday household items, groceries, snacks for a road trip or grabbing a quick meal, Apple Pay is the easiest way to pay in stores, while also being secure and faster than using a credit or debit card at the register,” Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Internet services at Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled even more customers will be able to pay at their favorite stores and restaurants using the Apple devices that are always with them.”

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Besides offering consumers the convenience of making in-store payments with their smartphones, as well as speeding online checkout, Apple Pay is seen as a solution for improving the security of purchase transactions in the wake of data breaches at large retailers. Instead of storing credit or debit card numbers, Apple Pay uses a unique, one-time number to authorize each transaction and creates a dynamic security code to validate a transaction.

A number of major retailers added Apple Pay in 2018. Costco Wholesale rolled out the system to more than 500 of its U.S. warehouse clubs, while CVS Pharmacy launched the service at all of its approximately 8,400 drug stores. Convenience store giant 7-Eleven also deployed Apple Pay at 95% of its U.S. stores last year.

Other food, drug and mass retailers offering Apple Pay include Albertsons, Safeway, Walgreens, Duane Reade, Trader Joe’s, Whole Food Market, Stop & Shop, Meijer and Casey’s General Store.