CVS today joined Walmart in continuing to resist Apple Pay, instead launching its own mobile payments solution. In a press release, CVS officially announced CVS Pay, a barcode-based solution to paying for goods and prescriptions in the company’s retail locations.
CVS Pay is very similar to Walmart Pay, namely in that it is operated entirely through the recently updated CVS app. Once a user adds their debit or credit card(s) to the CVS app, they present the cashier with a barcode or a pickup number displayed in the app. Once the barcode has been scanned, users can choose a card to pay with, initiate the process, and ultimately sign for the purchase if required.
One benefit of CVS Pay that the company is touting is its support for Heath Savings Account and Flex Spending Account cards. Because so much of the business CVS does is prescriptions, many users would need to use one of those cards to checkout. There’s also support for MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover, so if a user needs to split a prescription purchase from the rest of their purchase, they can do just that. CVS’s ExtraCare loyalty rewards is also built directly into the new CVS app.
The ultimate goal of CVS Pay, the company says, is to “use digital tools to drive convenience.”
CVS Pay is the latest solution from CVS Health that uses digital tools to drive convenience, as the company continues to develop and invest in new ways to make healthy lifestyles easier and more accessible for customers nationwide.
Shortly after the launch of Apple Pay in 2014, CVS began disabling NFC terminals in stores in favor of the CurrentC mobile payments solution, which has since seen better days itself. Apple responded to CVS and other retailers shutting off NFC terminals, explaining the early success of Apple Pay and the response from users.
Since then, some of the MCX/CurrentC retailers have started supporting Apple Pay, including Best Buy and Rite Aid, but Walmart and CVS have instead decided to launch their own services.
CVS Pay can be accessed via the CVS app, which is available on the App Store now. CVS Pay is currently supported at locations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, with a nationwide rollout expected by the end of this year. The full press release is below:
CVS Pharmacy Launches Breakthrough, End-to-End Mobile Payment Experience
WOONSOCKET, R.I., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) today announced the launch of CVS Pay , a new, end-to-end mobile payment solution at CVS Pharmacy. CVS Pay now part of the CVS Pharmacy mobile app integrates payment, prescription pickup and the ExtraCare loyalty program all in one quick scan at checkout. CVS Pay is the latest solution from CVS Health that uses digital tools to drive convenience, as the company continues to develop and invest in new ways to make healthy lifestyles easier and more accessible for customers nationwide.
“Over the past year, our digital team has brought to market numerous new digital tools like CVS Pay that make shopping at CVS Pharmacy easier and more convenient,” said Brian Tilzer, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, CVS Health. “We’ve been excited by the level of customer adoption of these digital solutions, and we will continue our quick pace of innovation and deployment to make our customers’ health care experience even easier.”
CVS Pay offers more than just a payment solution: customers can now use their CVS Pharmacy mobile app to streamline their checkout experience at the store combining multiple steps into one easy scan. For customers picking up a prescription, CVS Pay offers a simple, private and end-to-end pharmacy experience. Customers will have the ability to refill, manage multiple prescriptions and get alerts when prescriptions are ready, all within the app and then pick up and pay using a single barcode. Customers can also link their ExtraCare card with CVS Pay, meaning a single scan at checkout will process all ExtraCare deals, earn new rewards and handle payment for the transaction.
To use CVS Pay, customers simply add any of their credit or debit cards in the CVS Pharmacy app. When they are ready to check out at a CVS Pharmacy store, they’ll show the store associate the barcode in their app. (At the drive-thru, they’ll share their pickup number.) The associate will scan the barcode, ring up the purchases, let the customer choose a payment method from those stored in the app, and then process the payment. All verifications for prescriptions and payment like name/birthdate, signature, and PIN take place directly in the app, so transactions are hassle free. Once complete, the customer will receive a confirmation of payment in the app.
CVS Pay is currently available in select markets, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware and a nationwide rollout is expected to kick off later this year. The solution is available on iOS and Android devices the same platforms the CVS Pharmacy app is available on today and works with all major credit (MasterCard, Visa, Discover, American Express), debit, Health Savings Account, and Flexible Spending Account cards.
About CVS Pharmacy
CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), is America’s leading retail pharmacy with over 9,600 locations. It is the first national pharmacy to end the sale of tobacco and the first pharmacy in the nation to receive the Community Pharmacy accreditation from URAC, the leading health care accreditation organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry. CVS Pharmacy is reinventing pharmacy to help people on their path to better health by providing the most accessible and personalized expertise, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General information about CVS Pharmacy and CVS Health is available at www.cvshealth.com.
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