Written By: Alyson Clare Alyson Clare Alyson has worked much of her adult life in retail, starting out as a checkout chick. Within five years she was managing a supermarket and 67 staff. She has a large family, so has always been a savvy shopper. She decided to put pen to paper to share insider knowledge to help our readers Learn about our editorial process
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Does Ralphs take Apple Pay in 2023?
Ralphs does not take Apple Pay or any of the other mobile wallet applications.
It applies to both physical, in-store payments and those on its online platform.
It isn’t only true of Ralphs, but all stores beneath the Kroger banner.
After a brief trial in 2020, it appears that Ralphs or Kroger has no plans to reinstate Apple Pay as an accepted payment method in the future.
You might already know that Ralphs is another store that falls beneath the huge Kroger umbrella.
They are the second-largest retailer in the United States, and as such, experience high volumes of customers at the checkouts.
Ralphs is the largest of the 13-banners in the Kroger empire.
Busy supermarkets usually employ every effort to get people through the registers as quickly as possible, usually by enabling digital contactless payment methods.
We decided to research doesRalphs takes Apple Pay across any of its operations.
If not, why not, and which payment types do they accept?
Read on to discover our results.
Why Ralphs doesn’t take Digital Wallet Payments
It isn’t just Apple Pay that’s not a recognized payment option in Ralphs; they don’t accept Google, Samsung, and other e-wallet platforms.
With the popularity of touch-free, secure payments increasing, surely Ralphs has a rival solution up its sleeve?
Kroger Payis the mobile wallet application for use in almost all Kroger outlets, including all of the subsidiaries.
Devised as a reaction to Covid-19 in 2020, it answered customer demand for cleaner, less contact checkout areas.
Kroger Pay also saw fewer people using Apple Pay, so decided to cut ties with the platform.
Much like digital mobile wallets, it allows the user to link several payment cards to the account.
Set one card as default, the one from which payment is debited.
It is simple to toggle through all stored cards if you wish to use a different one.
Kroger Pay is less Complicated than Apple Pay
- Ralphs has a customer loyalty scheme that rewards frequent shoppers with offers, vouchers, and personalized deals. Customers using Apple Pay must always remember to scan their card, before checking out or face losing their accrued points.
- Kroger pay automatically accumulates all rewards at the point of payment without needing a card.
- Kroger Pay is user-friendly; when it’s time to pay, open the app and scan the QR code on the reader.
Using Kroger Pay maintains the brand from the moment you walk through the doors.
It is also more cost-effective to keep payment options in-house while allowing Ralphs to track which products customers buy most frequently, tooffer tailor-made deals.
Why would Ralphs and all Kroger brands want you to use a competitor’s app when they have a perfectly good one of their own, that integrated its excellent reward system.
When Kroger Pay doesn’t work
Not all operations accept Kroger Pay yet. For instance, none of the Gas Stations or Drive-Thru pharmacies take any NFC (Near Field Communication) payment types.
The smaller stores within the Corporation might not have the technology activated yet. Most do, but it is best if you pop online to check before a wasted journey, especially if the location is isolated or the store is small.
Other Payment Methods to use at Ralphs
Besides Kroger Pay, Ralphs also accept traditional methods of cash and personal check for in-store purchases.
Others include;
- All major credit and debit cards; Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discovery
- Wic Card – food vouchers for those in need
- SNAP – lease-to-own program for those with poor or no credit.
- EBT -Electronic Benefit Transfer
- Gift cards
Online Shopping and Paying at Ralphs
The Ralphs app is free to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play store.
It is user-friendly, providing lots of images to make filling your cart a pleasurable, simple experience.
You can select delivery, in-store pickup, or shipping when it comes time to pay. The latter are usually free with a spend greater than $35.
Online payment options are limited to
- Credit cards
- Debit cards
Ralphs doesn’t accept PayPal, possibly due to their high processing fees.
They also don’t accept EBT or WIC cards, you need to pop in-store with those.
The Kroger Rewards Debit Card
Apply online, in-store, or by phone for a Kroger debit card. If accepted, each use is rewarded with 50% more fuel points when compared with using a Ralph’s Rewards card.
Buying own-brand products also result in a 2% reduction when using the Kroger debit card to pay.
Conclusion
There are more than 450 Ralphs stores in the United States, mainly across Southern and Northern California and the Mid-West.
There are also more than 800 Fred Meyer food and drug stores in 11-states, another subsidiary of the Ralphs/Kroger corporation.
None of these stores, gas stations, pharmacies, nor their specific online operation takes Apple Pay – and have little intention of changing that fact soon.
Even though Ralphs doesn’t take Apple Pay, there are many other acceptable payment methods to earn rewards on your grocery shop!
