Later this year big-box retailer Best Buy will accept Apple Pay mobile payments. In addition, people will be able to use Apple Pay to buy electronics online via the Best Buy mobile app.
Apple CEO Time Cook announced the news on an earnings call with investors.
This is big news given that Best Buy was one of the members of the MCX alliance that rejected Apply Pay when it was first unveiled in 2014. MCX, spearheaded by Walmart, is known for the development of a mobile payment app called CurrentC.
However, CurrentC has been criticized as complicated to use and insecure.
The fact is that there is significant growth in the number of people who want to buy products at stores with their phones.
If retailers want to keep up and have a competitive edge they need to embrace the new technology.
Best Buy confirmed the news on its website.
The retailer said:
“Starting today, Best Buy customers can use Apple Pay to make purchases in the Best Buy app when using an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. A free update is now available in the Apple App Store.
“All U.S. Best Buy stores will begin accepting Apple Pay later this year.
“Today’s consumers have many different ways to spend their money and we want to give our customers as many options as possible in how they pay for goods and services at Best Buy.
“The acceptance of Apple Pay in the Best Buy app is the latest enhancement for our mobile platform. We are opening a technology innovation office in Seattle this summer to focus largely on mobile and will continue to implement new tools to enhance the customer experience in this important growth area.”