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Kroger's QFC chain pilots contactless payment technology

Seattle-based grocery retailer enables NFC mobile pay at checkout

Russell Redman

August 6, 2020

2 Min Read
Kroger_QFC_contactless_payment.jpg
Contactless payment forms accepted in QFC's pilot include Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Fitbit Pay, plus mobile banking apps and contactless chip cards.The Kroger Co.

The Kroger Co.’s QFC division is testing near-field communication (NFC) contactless payment at checkout in all of its 61 stores in Washington’s Puget Sound area and metropolitan Portland, Ore.

In the pilot, QFC customers pay for their purchases by placing their smartphone or contactless chip card near a PIN pad in the checkout lane, and payment data is transmitted to the terminal to process the transaction.

NFC-based contactless payment forms accepted include Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Fitbit Pay, as well as mobile banking apps and contactless chip cards.

“QFC is excited to pilot contactless payments powered by NFC technology, providing our customers with an additional way to pay for their fresh food and household essentials,” Chris Albi, president of Seattle-based QFC, said in a statement. “The contactless payment solution will help make life easier for many of our customers and provide the freedom of choice among various options, including cash, debit, credit and check.”

NFC technology employs a radio frequency field to transmit data between two devices — in this case, a mobile device and PIN pad — without physical contact. During the coronavirus crisis, retailers nationwide have seen an uptake in consumer use of contactless solutions as a safer, faster payment option.

Related:Publix deploys contactless payment for extra COVID-19 safety

According to Cincinnati-based Kroger, the QFC test supports the more than 30 policy and process changes that the company has implemented since the start of the COVID-19 crisis to foster social distancing and protect store associates, customers and communities.

“Kroger continues to invest in innovative technologies that advance the customer experience, including our payment systems,” stated Kathy Hanna, senior director of payments at Kroger. “Providing our customers with flexibility — whether that means having the option to choose between shopping in-store or online for groceries or how you pay for them — we are committed to personalizing their shopping trip.”

Several contact-free payment options are offered by Kroger, which sees the solutions as providing more frictionless experience for customers as well as safer alternatives during the pandemic.

Mobile payment solution Kroger Pay, which began rolling out early last year, is aimed at speeding checkout by securely combining a shopper’s payment and loyalty card information. Customers scan a single-use QR code at the payment terminal to quickly transmit their payment and loyalty card data. Meanwhile, Kroger’s improved Scan, Bag, Go technology lets customers use their smartphone to scan products using their mobile device, bag the items as they shop and then pay at checkout via the Kroger app.

Related:As coronavirus fears grow, delivery operators offer contactless options

Also, online grocery customers can place an order for pickup or delivery via Kroger.com or the Kroger mobile app. The retailer, too, also accepts SNAP/EBT payment for its grocery pickup service.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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