Thanks John, I don’t use Kroger very often. I get my groceries at 3 places - Valu Mart and Paul’s Fruit market - both of which are locally owned and operated, and Trader Joe’s. All three take Apple Pay. > On Aug 7, 2018, at 2:39 PM, John Robinson <[email protected]> wrote: > > YEA Harry, thanks…we are starting to get the attention of businesses…for some > reason folks just don’t understand the nature of the Apple fanatic…and their > buying power…but they are starting to learn. When all this started Best Buy, > Target, CVS and others were banning together to form their own payment system… > > Spiral into the ground, now Best buy takes ApplePay, CVS will later this year > and if Target hasn’t yet gotten the message, they will…Kroger will also need > to eventually come around. > > Did you see where Kroger is in a slugfest with Visa? > > John > > > > After Kroger strikes back at Visa, battle over credit-card fees may only get > worse > Maria LaMagna > <MW-FO449_kroger_20170614114733_ZH.jpg>Dan Acker/Bloomberg > Kroger and Visa’s dispute may not make your groceries any cheaper. > If you have a Visa credit card, be careful next time you go to Kroger: It > might get declined. And the same could start happening at more stores. > > Foods Co Supermarkets, part of the Kroger KR, +0.47% chain, recently said > that it will stop accepting Visa V, +0.41% credit cards at 21 stores and 5 > gas stations in California starting Aug. 14, because the store is unhappy > about Visa’s interchange, or “swipe” fees. > > Foods Co said it will no longer accept Visa “to save on the high costs > associated with the credit card company’s interchange rates and network > fees.” Credit card companies including Visa, Mastercard MA, +0.45% and > Discover DFS, +1.80% charge merchants every time a customer buys a product > using their cards. > > The fees vary, depending on the relationship between the retailer and the > company, but it is typically about 2% to 3% of the purchase price. All those > swipe fees can add up, especially for groceries that have relatively low > profit margins, said Brendan Miller, a principal analyst at the research firm > Forrester who covers payments. > > Kroger has a partnership with Mastercard for its loyalty program, and > produces co-branded Mastercards, said Kendrick Sands, a senior consumer > finance analyst for the research firm Euromonitor. More Kroger customers > could now be encouraged to use Mastercard, he said, or simply turn to debit > cards when making purchases. > > Will more retailers stop accepting certain cards? > > It looks increasingly likely that retailers will feel emboldened by the > debacle between Kroger and Visa, said Craig Shearman, the vide president for > government affairs public relations at the National Retail Federation, a > trade group. > > Shearman declined to speak specifically to Kroger’s decision, but he said > retailers have little ability to negotiate with credit-card companies, who > have “extreme market power” when it comes to how customers pay for purchases. > > Credit-card companies like Visa set their fees based on factors including the > size of the retailer and whether they’re accepting a card payment in person > or online. Those fees “are presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis,” > Shearman said. > > “I think retailers are definitely getting more frustrated,” he said. More > customers are now paying with credit cards, meaning swipe fees are more of a > hot-button issue and larger retailers could bring attention to that, he said. > “That’s what gets the attention of the card companies,” he said. > > Is this good or bad for consumers? > > Visa has indicated that it’s open to negotiation on the issue. “Visa is > disappointed at Kroger’s decision to stop accepting Visa credit cards at its > Foods Co. stores. When consumer choice is limited, nobody wins,” a Visa > spokesperson said in a statement. “Visa remains committed to working with > Kroger to reach a reasonable solution.” > > “It’s a gamble for Kroger,” said Matt Schulz, the chief industry analyst at > credit-card website CompareCards. “The average consumer doesn’t know anything > about swipe fees. All they would know is that their favorite grocery store no > longer accepts their favorite credit card.” Kroger, meanwhile, is likely > hoping that Visa will lower its credit-card swipe fees for its stores. > > He agrees with Shearman from NRF. “I think every retailer is going to be > watching this really carefully,” he said. > > The hope for consumers: Retailers will lower their prices if/when they save > money on swipe fees, Schulz said. But unfortunately for shoppers, a George > Mason University study last year found that retailers don’t typically lower > prices when they reduce credit-card swipe fees. > > > >> On Aug 7, 2018, at 2:32 PM, Harry Jacobson-Beyer <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> I was at Costco this morning and, as I do overtime I shop there, I asked if >> they take Apple Pay yet. Instead of the usual NO, I was told they will have >> Apple Pay within the week. >> >> Yay! >> _______________________________________________ >> MacGroup mailing list >> Posting address: [email protected] >> Archive: >> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mail-2Darchive.com_macgroup-40erdos.math.louisville.edu_&d=DwIFaQ&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=F2GFXrjLFqVo3VwvIlo_XYeEiRRjHv15rxcenz7A21woG2aFGcrzndoSsskxfmOs&m=HNT-GBXEw8M8WF4CFgxWPU7mJ_wxzke6d2q6zYUB2Vw&s=4MX0av2MkX4g91ZmmS2lu-ZfjlJ9m6cq-PTvG6IrzKc&e=> >> Answers to questions: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/> > > _______________________________________________ > MacGroup mailing list > Posting address: [email protected] > Archive: > <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mail-2Darchive.com_macgroup-40erdos.math.louisville.edu_&d=DwIFaQ&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=F2GFXrjLFqVo3VwvIlo_XYeEiRRjHv15rxcenz7A21woG2aFGcrzndoSsskxfmOs&m=HNT-GBXEw8M8WF4CFgxWPU7mJ_wxzke6d2q6zYUB2Vw&s=4MX0av2MkX4g91ZmmS2lu-ZfjlJ9m6cq-PTvG6IrzKc&e=> > Answers to questions: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/>
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