Staples and Whole Foods announced Tuesday plans to bring the Apple Pay mobile wallet to its stores, which will make it easy for customers to securely and privately pay for purchases from their iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch.
Apple Pay is expected to be available in Staples stores later this fall. Also this fall, Staples intends to integrate Apple Pay into its new Staples iOS 8 app experience, with functionality available for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
“Our customers will love the convenience of Apple Pay, which will offer an easier, faster and secure way to check-out at Staples,” said Faisal Masud, executive vice president, global ecommerce, Staples Inc. “Staples planned launch of Apple Pay is the most recent example of our commitment to innovation that helps our customers make more happen with their business.”
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Integration with Apple Pay is the latest in a series of omnichannel updates Staples has made to make it easy for customers to shop however and whenever they want. These enhancements include the ability to buy online and pick-up in store, a new iPad app, and enhanced in-store Staples.com kiosk functionality.
Checkout lanes at all Whole Foods Market stores already accept industry standard Near Field Communication (NFC) payments via pads at store check-out registers. With Apple Pay, Whole Foods Market will accept even more payments using NFC technology.
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“Our customers are going to love the convenience of Apple Pay, which will bring a faster, easier, more secure and private way to make purchases at Whole Foods Market,” said Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market. “We’re committed to providing innovative new choices and conveniences for our customers, and the ability to buy groceries with just a simple touch of a finger elevates convenience to a whole new level.”
Apple Pay combines Apple’s seamlessly integrated hardware, software and services to create a mobile wallet experience for iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch users. Users will also continue to receive all of the rewards, benefits and security offered by their credit and debit cards.
When users add a card with Apple Pay, the actual credit and debit card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers, and cashiers won’t see the user’s name, credit card number or card security code.