Kroger Begins Accepting Apple Pay After Years of Holding Out

Kroger this week began accepting Apple Pay and other contactless payment methods at select locations in Kentucky and Ohio, allowing customers to tap to pay with an iPhone or Apple Watch at checkout, according to customers on Reddit and Twitter.

Apple Pay Kroger
It's unclear how many Kroger locations are now accepting Apple Pay, or if NFC-based payments will be expanded to all of the over 1,200 grocery stores that operate under the namesake Kroger brand. We have reached out to a company spokesperson for comment and will update this story if we receive any additional information.

Kroger was one of the largest Apple Pay holdouts in the U.S. since the service launched in 2014, alongside Walmart, The Home Depot, and Lowe's. Kroger did roll out Apple Pay at some of its other grocery chains in the past few years, including Ralphs in California, QFC in Washington and Oregon, and King Soopers in Colorado and Wyoming.

Kroger-owned chain Fred Meyer also recently started accepting Apple Pay at its stores in the Northwest, a spokesperson confirmed, while its North Carolina-based banner Harris Teeter tweeted it is "working towards accepting Apple Pay."

In a press release last year, Apple said that Apple Pay was accepted at more than 90% of U.S. retailers, and Kroger is a significant addition. The company also continues to offer its own service called Kroger Pay, which requires customers to scan a QR code at checkout to pay with a debit or credit card stored in the Kroger app.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Top Rated Comments

kylew1212 Avatar
9 months ago
Wow! Did I die and just not get the memo?

Certainly didn’t see this coming anytime soon.
Please let Home Depot & Lowe’s be next.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
9 months ago
It’s quite strange from the UK perspective that there are still stores in the US which block Apple Pay.

Acceptance here is 100%, so much so that I can go everywhere with just my phone/watch to pay for things and not even think about my wallet.

And cash? I can barely remember the last time I needed an ATM…
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kognos Avatar
9 months ago
Kroger pay is an abomination. They don't have any idea how to make something easy or quick. Launching an app and then going into that app to get a QR code to then scan physically is not something you want to see anyone do - it's like the equivalent of seeing someone be told "that'll be 32.50 ma'am" and then seeing them act surprised that they need to pay, and open up their purse to rummage for the chequebook and a pen and start writing. It's like scary slow.

Contactless payment should be standard, and not just Apple Pay. Kroger just are incredibly cheap and won't modernize. It's pretty bad honestly when my 7-11 will take anything but Kroger will not.

Bear in mind that Kroger claimed they did this before in a similar limited market and claimed that there wasn't a lot of desire for it. Don't be fooled - they are only trying to prevent modernization and that expense.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocMultimedia Avatar
9 months ago
Everything should accept Apple pay. And others.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrRom92 Avatar
9 months ago
It amazes me how far ahead Europe is when it comes to this stuff. Totally different world. Here in the US using a physical card is still a daily occurrence, Apple Pay terminals are more common than they once were but they’re still the exception rather than the rule. I still often get looked at like I just did some crazy wizard stuff when I try to use Apple Pay here. And in any restaurant, handing over your card is still the standard procedure. There’s no way to use Apple Pay even if you wanted to.

On the other hand, Just spent a week in London and I didn’t so much as even LOOK at my card the entire time, not even once. Or paper money either, for that matter. No matter where I went, even restaurants. Apple Pay/tap to pay terminals are e v e r y w h e r e and that’s what you’re expected to use. Just a normal part of daily life, as it should be.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
name99 Avatar
9 months ago

Apple charges more in processing fees than the standard credit card does.
No they don't! In fact Apple Pay charges no extra fees, and the Merchant Fees are slightly reduced compared to standard credit cards. They also get a slightly reduced rate because the tech they use makes fraud harder, so the "insurance" part of the fees goes dow (ie they only pay the NFC rate, not the magnetic swipe rate, for obvious reasons)

At least so claims: https://blog.clover.com/apple-pay-for-business-what-will-it-cost-me/
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

ios stolen device protection

iOS 17.3 Beta Adds New Stolen Device Protection Feature to iPhone

Tuesday December 12, 2023 10:20 am PST by
The first iOS 17.3 beta rolling out to developers today includes a new "Stolen Device Protection" feature that is designed to add an additional layer of security in the event someone has stolen your iPhone and also obtained the device's passcode. Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern and Nicole Nguyen reported about instances of thieves spying on a victim's iPhone...
iOS 17

33 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 17.2

Tuesday December 12, 2023 1:57 am PST by
Apple has made available for download its major end-of-year iPhone software update, iOS 17.2, featuring a large number of features and changes that users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 33 new things that your iPhone can do once you've installed the update. Check Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update on your device to get downloading. 1. Help You Keep a Daily ...
iPhone 16 Mock Back 1

iPhone 16 Early Prototypes: What Apple's Next-Generation iPhone Will Look Like

Tuesday December 12, 2023 3:07 pm PST by
With the launch of the iPhone 15, Apple introduced design changes like a curved frame and a frosted glass back. Information acquired by MacRumors suggests that Apple's next-generation iPhone 16 will build on these updates with modifications to the buttons and the camera layout. We have details on early pre-production designs for the iPhone 16, including a look at the variants and hardware...
CarPlay Phone Call

GM Says It's Nixing CarPlay to Make Drivers Safer

Tuesday December 12, 2023 1:47 pm PST by
Earlier this year, General Motors (GM) announced plans to phase out Apple's CarPlay and Android Auto in its future electric vehicles, with the company instead relying on an infotainment system co-developed with Google. This has not been a popular decision with iPhone users, and today, GM provided some additional insight into the decision in a discussion with MotorTrend. According to Tim...
iPhone 16 Side Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Rumored to Have These 12 New Features

Monday December 11, 2023 10:46 am PST by
While the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are still over nine months away from launching, there are already several rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped new features and changes expected for the devices so far. These are some of the key changes rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models as of December 2023:Larger displays: The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped...
Apple TV 2022 Feature Blue

Apple Releases tvOS 17.2 With Revamped Apple TV App

Monday December 11, 2023 9:58 am PST by
Apple today released tvOS 17.2, the second major update to the tvOS 17 operating system that came out in September 2023. tvOS 17.2 comes more than a month after tvOS 17.1, an update that expanded the availability of the Enhanced Dialogue feature. tvOS 17.2 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Go to System > Software Update to get the new software. ‌Apple TV‌...
maxresdefault

Top Five Features in macOS Sonoma 14.2

Wednesday December 13, 2023 3:21 pm PST by
When Apple releases new software, iOS updates tend to get most of the attention, and there are sometimes useful new features in Mac updates that go under the radar. That's the case with macOS Sonoma 14.2. It doesn't have flashy features like the Journal app that came in iOS 17.2, but there are a number of useful improvements that make it worth installing. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube ...