Target Says It's Working on Getting Apple Pay Into its Stores [Updated]

U.S. retail giant Target may be planning to accept Apple Pay in the future, according to a recent tweet spotted by 9to5Mac.

target logo 2016
AskTarget, the retailer's verified customer service account on Twitter, said Apple pay is "awesome" and that Target is "working on getting this technology into our stores." It even quipped "we'll catch up with the 21st century soon!"


While the tweet originates from an official Target account, it is possible that a customer service representative tweeted inaccurate information.

In May 2015, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the retailer would be "open-minded" about supporting additional payment systems like Apple Pay after implementing chip-and-PIN card support. Target began supporting chip-and-PIN cards in October 2015, but it has yet to support Apple Pay.

Last month, Target confirmed it plans to launch its own mobile payment service in its stores this year. An earlier report said the retailer was leaning towards using QR code technology for the wallet app, rather than NFC, enabling customers to purchase goods by scanning a code at checkout akin to Walmart Pay.

Update: Target currently has "no plans" to support Apple Pay in its stores, a company spokesperson confirmed to MacRumors today. Target has deleted the tweet and said "the information shared with this guest was incorrect."

We have no plans or work underway currently to make Apple Pay available in our stores.

We continue to offer Apple Pay for online purchases in the Target app. And while we are exploring mobile wallet opportunities for our stores, we have no updates on our plans to share at this time.

Target does support Apple Pay in its shopping app for in-app payments.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: Target

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Top Rated Comments

itguy06 Avatar
105 months ago
That may be the case but Samsung Pay doesn't even use NFC. The phone itself vibrates the pattern that is recognized by the card reader.
It doesnt vibrate anything. It uses a high powered magnet to emulate the magnetic strip of the card to the reader. Innovative technology but about 3 years too late. It will only be a matter of a short period of time before it will be rendered obsolete when chips are 100% required.

You have a LOT to learn so I'd say read up before replying.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tmiw Avatar
105 months ago
Meanwhile, my Galaxy S7 Edge works perfectly to pay at any credit card machine from the Mom and Pop convenience stores to yes, even Target. No BS proprietary protocols to follow and I even gain reward points with every purchase that I can redeem for gift cards. Beat that.
NFC isn't exactly a proprietary protocol either.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thisisnotmyname Avatar
105 months ago

My source card has a chip and it doesn't change a thing. It still works on any reader. Next?
Not if you are using the MST with a merchant that requires chip for chip card transactions. That would be the same as swiping the physical card then refusing to insert the chip.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
itguy06 Avatar
105 months ago
Um. Okay. What I mean, though, is that in order for businesses to utilize Apple Pay, they have to upgrade their point of sale machines to accept the proprietary protocols that Apple demands.
You are wrong. Apple Pay only needs the merchant to support NFC. Nothing special about it from that end. As long as they allow NFC pay you are good to go with Apple Pay or Android Pay.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
noisycats Avatar
105 months ago
Working on it!?! Just activate the NFC reader. I call BS on their efforts.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thisisnotmyname Avatar
105 months ago
Meanwhile, my Galaxy S7 Edge works perfectly to pay at any credit card machine from the Mom and Pop convenience stores to yes, even Target. No BS proprietary protocols to follow and I even gain reward points with every purchase that I can redeem for gift cards. Beat that.
Beat that? OK, mine will keep working when your source card goes chip and the merchant requires the chip to be inserted.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)