--- description: The move is reportedly part of an effort by a group of retail companies to develop their own mobile payments system title: Apple Pay Blocked at RiteAid and CVS image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a223ede2f87f5f6/698762d72dce01b2859db277/4575520281.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # RiteAid and CVS Have Blocked Apple Pay Across All Their Stores by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 27, 2014 8:30 AM CUT  A worker demonstrates Apple Pay inside a mobile kiosk sponsored by Visa and Wells Fargo to demonstrate the new Apple Pay mobile payment system on October 20, 2014 in San Francisco City. A worker demonstrates Apple Pay inside a mobile kiosk sponsored by Visa and Wells Fargo to demonstrate the new Apple Pay mobile payment system on October 20, 2014 in San Francisco City.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 27, 2014 8:30 AM CUT Apple’s attempt to revolutionize the way people pay for things [hit a roadblock](http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/25/cvs-disabling-nfc-apple-pay/ "undefined") over the weekend, with pharmaceutical retail chains CVS and RiteAid disabling its mobile payment system Apple Pay across their stores. RiteAid stopped accepting mobile payment systems that use near-field communication (NFC) earlier in the week. Tech website MacRumors then reported that CVS joined them on Saturday, when it reportedly [sent an email](https://twitter.com/jsprewell/status/526004283888926720 "undefined") to all its employees instructing them that customers would no longer be able to pay using software like Apple Pay and Android’s Google Wallet. The move is apparently part of a project involving several large retail companies — including Wal-Mart and Best Buy — who are developing a [mobile payment system of their own](http://fortune.com/2014/10/26/why-qvc-and-rite-aid-are-blocking-apple-pay/ "undefined"). The system, known as Merchant Customer Exchange or MCX, will use a different technology to that used by Apple Pay and Google Wallet, and its ultimate aim is to cut out credit card companies altogether, as _Fortune_ reports. Neither CVS nor RiteAid were named among the companies accepting Apple Pay when it was launched last month, but it had been functioning at both chains until they shut it down. “This act by CVS and Rite Aid heralds the advent of the imminent battle in the mobile pay system,” NYU marketing and information technology professor Anindya Ghose [told](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-26/apple-pay-face-challenge-as-cvs-rite-aid-reject-system.html "undefined") _Bloomberg_. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3540848/riteaid-cvs-block-apple-pay/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3540848/riteaid-cvs-block-apple-pay/"},"headline":"RiteAid and CVS Have Blocked Apple Pay Across All Their Stores","datePublished":"2014-10-27T08:30:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:03:30.571Z","description":"The move is reportedly part of an effort by a group of retail companies to develop their own mobile payments system","url":"https://time.com/3540848/riteaid-cvs-block-apple-pay/","keywords":["Tech","Smartphones","apps","mobile payments","NFC","CVS","apple pay"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a223ede2f87f5f6/698762d72dce01b2859db277/4575520281.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a223ede2f87f5f6/698762d72dce01b2859db277/4575520281.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"220,000 Stores Start Accepting Apple Pay","caption":"220,000 Stores Start Accepting Apple Pay","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3540848/riteaid-cvs-block-apple-pay/","name":"RiteAid and CVS Have Blocked Apple Pay Across All Their Stores"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Here’s What Happened When We Tried Apple Pay","description":"Sure, the new payment system looks all shiny in Apple's demos, but does it really work on the streets of New York?","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mF0Sj9YJ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-21T19:21:02.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mF0Sj9YJ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3540848/riteaid-cvs-block-apple-pay/","duration":"PT2M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3540848/riteaid-cvs-block-apple-pay/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```