Does Chick-fil-A Accept Apple Pay?
It is actually much harder to figure out which retailers actually accept Apple Pay than you might think.
On August 17, 2016, Chick-fil-A Inc. tweeted that Apple Pay would be available at its popular sandwich restaurants on August 19, 2016. Yet on August 20, 2016, Chick-fil-A was listed in the coming soon section on the official Apple Pay website. The fast-food outlet has apparently been there for some time.
Judging by this discrepancy the only way to know if Chick-fil-A actually takes the payment app is to go to the restaurant and order a sandwich. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is doing a very poor job of communicating the latest developments with this solution to its fans.
The confusion is made worse by the Apple fan press. For example on August 17, 2016, MacRumors reported that Yum Brands’ (NYSE: YUM) subsidiary KFC; or Kentucky Fried Chicken, was accepting Apple Pay. Yet when I went to the Apple Pay website, KFC’s logo was nowhere to be seen; in the official list of brands that accept the payment solution. Nor did it appear in the coming soon section or in the Apps that accept Apple Pay.
One has to wonder if this level of confusion and the frustration it creates is preventing popular acceptance of Apple Pay. After all why should anybody use an App if they do not know where they can pay with it.
Retailers that Accept Apple Pay
In an attempt to clear up this confusion here is the official list of retailers that accept Apple Pay as of August 20, 2016:
- Acme (supermarkets)
- Aeropostale
- American Eagle Outfitters
- The Apple Store
- B&H (electronic stores)
- Babies R Us
- Barney’s New York
- Basha (supermarkets)
- Best Buy
- Bevmo! (liquor stores)
- Bi Lo (supermarkets)
- BJ’s (wholesale club)
- Bloomingdales
- Champ’s Sports Bar
- Chevron Gas Stations
- Coca-Cola Vending Machines
- Crate & Barrel
- Cub Foods
- Dan’ Fresh Market
- Davis Food & Drug
- Dick’s Fresh Market
- The Disney Store
- Duane Reade (drugstores)
- Dunkin’ Donuts
- Express (clothing stores)
- Extra Mile
- Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy
- Firehouse Subs
- FoodMaxx (supermarkets)
- Footlocker
- Footaction
- Fuddruckers (hamburgers)
- GameStop
- Golden State Warriors (NBA franchise)
- Harvey’s Supermarket
- Hornbacher’s (supermarket0
- House of Hoops by Footlocker (sporting goods)
- Jamba Juice
- Jersey Mike’ Subs
- JetBlue (airline)
- Jewel Osco (drugstores)
- Kids Foot Locker
- Kohl’s
- Lady Foot Locker
- The Lego Store
- Levi’s stores
- Lin’s Fresh Market
- Luby’s (supermarket)
- Lucky (supermarket)
- Macey’s (supermarket)
- Macy’s (department stores)
- McDonald’s
- Meijer (discount stores)
- Office Depot
- OfficeMax
- Orlando Magic (NBA franchise)
- Nike stores
- Panera Bread
- Peet’s Coffee
- Petco
- Pep Boys
- Phoenix Suns (NBA franchise)
- Raley’s (supermarket)
- Rubio’s (Mexican restaurant)
- Run by Footlocker
- Save Mart Supermarkets
- Schnuks (supermarket)
- Sephora
- Shaw’s (supermarket)
- Shop n’ Save (supermarket)
- Shopper’s (supermarket)
- Six:02
- Sports Authority (note this chain is going out of business)
- Sprouts Farmers’ Market
- Staples
- Star Market (supermarket)
- Stater Brothers Markets (supermarket)
- Subway
- Supervalu (supermarket)
- Texaco (gas stations)
- Toys R’ Us
- Trader Joe’s
- United Supermarkets
- Unleashed by Petco
- Walgreens
- Walt Disney World
- Wegmans (supermarket)
- White Castle (hamburgers)
- Whole Foods
- Winn Dixie (supermarkets)
Now here’s the coming soon:
- Albertson’s
- Antropologie
- Au Bon Pain (the bakery café)
- Baskin Robbins
- Big Lots! (discount store)
- Carmike Cinemas
- Chick-fil-A
- Edition
- El Pollo Loco (chicken)
- Forever 21
- Free People
- JC Penney
- Johnny Rockets (hamburgers)
- L. Bean
- Marriott (hotels)
- Regal Cinemas
- Renaissance Hotels
- T-Mobile (phones)
- Ulta Beauty
- Urban Outfitters
It looks as if these lists might not be accurate, some of the brands on the coming soon list might be accepting Apple Pay. There might also be retailers that accept Apple Pay that do not appear on the list.
Nor does Apple Pay necessarily work even if it is available the Apple Pay website now contains these words: “If you’re having trouble using Apple Pay at a store displaying one of these symbols, let us know.”
So it sounds as if some consumers are having trouble using Apple Pay. Although it looks as if more retailers accept Apple Pay than Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android Pay. Interestingly enough there are a few brands that accept Android Pay but not Apple Pay.
Retailers that Accept Android Pay
Here is the official list of retailers that accept Android Pay as of August 20, 2016:
- Acme
- Aeropostale
- American Eagle Outfitters
- ATT
- Babies R’ Us
- Bashas’
- BJ’s Wholesale Club
- Bloomingdales
- Champ’s Sports Bar
- Chevron gas stations
- Coca-Cola (vending machines)
- Davis Food & Drug
- The Disney Store
- Duane Reade by Walgreens
- Express (clothing store)
- FoodMaxx (supermarkets)
- Footaction by Foot Locker
- Fuddruckers
- GameStop
- The Golden State Warriors
- House of Hoops by Footlocker
- Jamba Juice
- Jet Blue
- Jewel-Osco (drug stores)
- Kids Foot Locker
- Lady Foot Locker
- The Lego Store
- Lin’s (supermarket)
- Lucky (supermarket)
- Macy’s (department stores)
- McDonald’s
- Meijer
- Nike stores
- Office Depot
- The Orlando Magic
- Panera Bread
- Peet’s Coffee & Tea
- PepBoys
- Pepsi (vending machines)
- Petco
- The Phoenix Suns
- Rubio’s
- Save Mart Supermarkets
- Shaw’s (supermarkets)
- Star (supermarkets)
- Six:02 (clothing)
- Sport’s Authority
- Sprouts Farmers Market
- Staples
- Subway
- Texaco (gas stations)
- The Fresh Market (supermarket)
- T-Mobile
- ToysRus
- United Supermarkets
- Unleashed by Petco
- USA Technologies
- Verizon
- VG’s Fresh Market
- Walgreens
- Walt Disney World
- Wegmans (supermarket)
- Whole Foods
- Winn Dixie
Alphabet does not list coming soon retailers for Android Pay.
As you can see the number of retailers that accept Android Pay and Apple Pay is quite limited. That fact is highlighted by the attention focused on a fast food outlier like Chick-Fil-A when it adopts Apple Pay.
Jet Accepts Android Pay but Not Apple Pay
Until the major national retailers get onboard, Apple Pay is just a niche product and something of a curiosity. One major resister of Android and Apple Pay has been Walmart (NYSE: WMT), although Jet; which was just bought out by Walmart, is now listed on the apps that take Android Pay but not those that take Apple Pay.
One has to wonder if Walmart or Walmart Pay will soon taking Android Pay now that it’s working with Jet. If Android Pay gets into Walmart; the world’s largest retailer, before Apple Pay that will be a major setback for Apple. Such a development might force Apple to revise its business plan for the payment solution.