Rite Aid drops support for Apple Pay, reportedly working on competing platform

October 27, 2014

Rite Aid pharmacy has mentioned that it is dropping support for Apple Pay across all 4,600 stores in the US. The drug store chain seemingly accepted the NFC-based payment solution when it debuted earlier this month, but subsequently pulled support earlier this week.

While the exact reason for the withdrawal of support for Apple Pay isn't known, leaked internal memos obtained by SlashGear indicate that Rite Aid is working on a payment solution that is similar to Apple Pay:

Please note that we do not accept Apple Pay at this time. However we are currently working with a group of large retailers to develop a mobile wallet that allows for mobile payments attached to credit cards and bank accounts directly from a smart phone. We expect to have this feature available in the first half of 2015.

If customers attempt to pay for a transaction with Apple Pay, a message will prompt both customer and cashier for a different form of payment. Please instruct cashiers to apologize to the customer and explain that we do not currently accept Apple Pay, but will have our own mobile wallet next year.

The validity of the leaked documents wasn't authenticated, although in a statement to iMore, Rite Aid's public relations did confirm that Apple Pay was no longer supported:

Rite Aid does not currently accept Apple Pay. We are continually evaluating various forms of mobile payment technologies, and are committed to offering convenient, reliable and secure payment methods that meet the needs of our customers.

What do you guys think of Rite Aid's moves to block Apple Pay?