CVS Pharmacy Now Accepting Apple Pay in Stores

CVS Pharmacy has officially launched support for Apple Pay nationwide this week, a few months after Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the retailer would be accepting Apple Pay later in the year. CVS has been gradually rolling out support for Apple Pay at its stores in recent weeks, and now it appears to be officially complete.

cvs apple pay
Using Apple Pay, CVS customers can now pay for their items on compatible iPhones and Apple Watches, by placing the devices close to a near field communication (NFC) payment terminal at checkout. In a marketing email being sent out to customers, Apple encourages shoppers to check out at CVS with its mobile wallet:

Get your essentials in a flash. Buying snacks, vitamins, personal care, and prescriptions from CVS Pharmacy just got faster and more secure.

At the launch of Apple Pay in 2014, CVS disabled NFC payment terminals at some of its locations in order to stop the use of Apple Pay. A few years later, the company debuted "CVS Pay," which used a barcode-based system to allow customers to check out using their smartphone and the CVS Pharmacy app.

Now that CVS has turned around and rolled out Apple Pay support, there are just a few remaining large retail chains refraining from supporting Apple's mobile wallet. This includes Target, which previously said it has no plans to accept Apple Pay in its stores and instead launched a "Wallet" feature in the Target iOS app, allowing customers to pay for their groceries and other items with their smartphone at checkout.

Another is Walmart, which has followed a similar trajectory as Target: the company confirmed it has no plans to support Apple Pay in its retail stores, instead pushing its own "Walmart Pay" mobile wallet checkout option. As with CVS, these companies could eventually decide to accept Apple Pay as a checkout option for customers, but as of now it doesn't appear like this will happen anytime soon.

Apple Pay launched in the United States in October 2014, providing tap-to-pay functionality with a compatible iPhone or Apple Watch after setting up a supported credit or debit card in the Wallet app. Apple Pay is now available in more than 20 countries, and now also supports a person-to-person payment feature called Apple Pay Cash.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: CVS

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond. Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far. Apple...
General Apple Invites Feature

Apple Launches New 'Invites' App

Tuesday February 4, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple today announced the launch of a new app called "Invites," which is designed to allow users to plan events like birthday parties, graduations, vacations, baby showers, and more. "With Apple Invites, an event comes to life from the moment the invitation is created, and users can share lasting memories even after they get together," said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple's senior director of...
App Store vs EU Feature 2

Apple Says It Doesn't Approve of EU Porn App

Monday February 3, 2025 1:15 pm PST by
Apple does not approve of the "Hot Tub" pornography app that was released for the iPhone in the EU using alternative app distribution, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. Further, Apple is concerned about the potential user safety risks with a pornography app, and says that it undermines consumer trust in the Apple ecosystem. We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore...
maxresdefault

An Apple TV Refresh is Coming in 2025 - Here's What You Should Know

Wednesday February 5, 2025 10:17 am PST by
Apple hasn't refreshed the Apple TV since 2022, but rumors suggest that we're finally going to get an update in 2025. We don't have a full picture of what to expect yet, but we have some hints on what's coming. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Updated A-Series Chip The current Apple TV 4K uses the A15 Bionic chip that was in the iPhone 13 lineup, and it's time for...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive an All-New Perk

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:21 am PST by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. iCloud+ is the official name for Apple's paid iCloud storage plans, which range from 50GB for $0.99 per month to 12TB for $59.99 per month in the United States. iCloud+ plans already come with multiple perks for free, such as Hide My Email and HomeKit Secure Video, and now there is another one...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb

iPhone SE 4 Launching as Soon as Next Week

Thursday February 6, 2025 3:30 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone SE could debut as soon as next week with a launch to follow later in February, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple isn't expected to hold an event for the iPhone SE 4, and will instead unveil the device through a press release. The iPhone SE 4 is expected to have an iPhone 14-style design, with Apple eliminating the thick bezels and Touch ID Home button of...
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Thursday February 6, 2025 7:31 am PST by
Apple is internally testing iOS 18.3.1 for iPhones, according to our website's analytics logs, which have been a consistently reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released within the next few weeks. iOS 18.3.1 should be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Apple Intelligence notification summaries for news and...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Raises Monthly AppleCare+ Subscription Price for All iPhones

Tuesday February 4, 2025 9:35 am PST by
Apple this week increased the prices for its monthly AppleCare+ subscription prices for the iPhone, raising the cost by 50 cents for all models in the United States. Standard AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 models is now priced at $10.49 per month, for example, up from the prior $9.99 per month price. The 50 cent price increase applies to all available AppleCare+ plans for Apple's current...

Top Rated Comments

parseckadet Avatar
83 months ago
Why that's so big news in US? In EU we can use ApplePay literally everywhere, where the contactless terminal is, so just about everywhere, even it the smallest grocery stories.
Please, why do we have to have these comments in every Apple Pay thread? Go back and read the many, many other Apple Pay threads.

Also, read the article. CVS is particularly notable because it originally worked there when Apple Pay launched, but they disabled NFC payments entirely for the sole purpose of not supporting Apple Pay. They were one of the first and biggest retailers to resist Apple Pay, and now they have reversed course. That's highly notable.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
83 months ago
Card issuers should start mandating that contactless payments be enabled at all retailers that take those cards, just as they have been doing with chip cards.

I think that's the only way that this idiotic ******** will finally stop.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jaro65 Avatar
83 months ago
Good. I use Apple Pay with my Apple Watch wherever it is available. Tapping your wrist is so much more convenient than reaching into your pocket....
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
euvnairb Avatar
83 months ago
I really wish gas stations would start accepting NFC/Apple Pay at the pump (Shell in particular). This is an area that needs contactless payment because so many thief's use credit card skimmers around here.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Winter Charm Avatar
83 months ago
I guess my boycott of CVS can end. Nice. :)
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djeeyore25 Avatar
83 months ago
CVS has a few locations around NYC.


Attachment Image
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)