CVS Rolls Out Support For Apple Pay

Months after Apple CEO Tim Cook said CVS would be accepting Apple Pay, the retailer has brought support for the mobile wallet to stores across the country. The retailer had reportedly slowly brought the functionality to its brick-and-mortar stores, and the rollout has now been publicized, MacRumors reported.

“Get your essentials in a flash,” Apple said in a marketing email, according to the outlet. “Buying snacks, vitamins, personal care and prescriptions from CVS Pharmacy just got faster and more secure.”

Following Apple Pay’s 2014 launch, CVS reportedly disabled near-field communication (NFC) terminals. The pharmacy retailer then rolled out CVS Pay, which enabled customers to make payments using their smartphones.

With CVS’ launch of Apple Pay, only a few large retailers do not accept it, including Target. The company’s iOS app does have a “Wallet” feature, however, that lets customers use their smartphones at checkout. Walmart, too, reportedly doesn’t have plans to accept Apple Pay, and offers a Walmart Pay function.

The news comes as 7-Eleven now takes Google Pay and Apple Pay at most of its U.S. locations to speed up shopping trips for its customers. The new options are in addition to other mobile payment choices the chain offers, such as Samsung Pay, Chain Store Age reported in September.

“Frictionless experiences are the future, and digital payments are key to such experiences. Consumers prefer shopping at retailers that offer digital payment capabilities,” said 7-Eleven CDO and CIO Gurmeet Singh, according to the outlet. “The ability to pay with their smart devices gives consumers one more reason to shop at 7-Eleven.”

There are lot of 7-Eleven locations — nearly 70,000 worldwide and over 10,000 in the United States alone. By some estimates, about a quarter of the U.S. population lives within one mile of a 7-Eleven. They’re nearly universally recognizable as the brand behind the twin cultural forces of the Slurpee and the Big Gulp.