Apple Pay Disabled by CVS and Rite-Aid Chains: Critics Slam Move

By Max Bonto, Christian Post Contributor Monday, October 27, 2014

It's only been a week since Apple Pay has been made available and it's already creating turbulent issues within the payments industry. Apple Pay is a payment system that Apple developed where users can simply make and accept payments using their iPhones. As Apple puts it, it is "an easy, secure, and private way" to make payments.

Apparently over the weekend, two prescription drug store chains had disabled Apple Pay as a transaction option. Rite Aid and CVS did not made the reason immediately clear.

A spokeswoman for Rite Aid Ashley Flower had said that the company "does not currently accept Apple Pay." She added that the company was "still in the process of evaluating our mobile payment options."

CVS on the other hand did not give any comments regarding the withdrawal of Apple Pay from their payment options.

There are analysts which say that disabling acceptance of Apple Pay as a payment option was to pave the way for a rival system which is currently not yet available. CurrentC is being developed by a group of merchants known as the Merchant Customer Exchange or MCX.

Patrick Moorhead, president of Moor Insights & Strategy, commented on the two drug chains' move.

"Clearly Rite Aid and CVS are making business decision over a customer satisfaction decision," he said. Moorhead said that the move could upset customers who firmly believe that Apple's new payment system is easier and safer than traditional credit card.

Rite Aid and CVS aren't the only ones who are taking stands in today's mobile payment systems as PayPal and Google will surely join in the battle to update their mobile wallet strategy to compete with Apple Pay.