JCPenney drops Apple Pay and all contactless options
JCPenney has quietly dropped Apple Pay.
The US retailer began testing the mobile payments system in 2015, then rolled it out to all US stores the following year, and after that its mobile app.
There was no official announcement about the decision to jump ship. Rather, JCPenney confirmed the move when customers took to social media to ask why they couldn’t use Apple Pay.
“A third party credit card brand made the requirement for all merchants to actively support EMV contactless functionality effective 13th April, retiring the legacy MSD contactless technology in place. Given the resources and lead time associated with meeting the new mandate, JCPenney chose to suspend all contactless payment options until a later date,” it said in a statement sent to RTIH.
“Customers still have the ability to complete their transactions manually by inserting or swiping their physical credit cards at our Point of Sale terminals in stores, an option employed by the vast majority of JCPenney shoppers.”
While the US 13th April deadline for supporting EMV contactless chip functionality was a major reason for the move, note also the reference to low Apple Pay take up, with the majority of its customers still opting for card payments.
