Lowe's finally adds support for Apple Pay

The second-largest hardware chain in the U.S. has finally decided to support Apple Pay. For those who don't know what Apple Pay is, it is the mobile payment service that allows an iPhone user to select a credit, debit, or prepaid card from the Wallet app and tap the phone against a POS machine (it stands for point of sale, probably not what you were thinking) to complete a transaction at a retail store.

You don't have to fumble for your wallet to grab your credit card, especially when you're bundled up to stay warm in the bitter cold, and you don't have to worry about your card's information being stolen by a skimmer placed inside a card slot by a criminal. It's just so darn convenient and it costs you nothing to use it. Apple collects .15% of the value of every transaction rung up with Apple Pay. That means that on a $100 transaction, Apple earns the princely total of 15 cents.

But this is a volume business after all and with so many people using Apple Pay, the service is expected to generate $4 billion in revenue for Apple this year which is more than double the $1.9 billion that Apple Pay raked in for Apple in 2022. Earlier this year Apple promoted Apple Pay with a series of ads. And now, after a long absence, Lowe's is adding Apple Pay support to its 2,100 retail locations in the U.S.

This is a shrewd move by Lowe's and an attempt to take some business away from the number one hardware chain in the U.S. since Home Depot does not support Apple Pay. Another huge retailer that doesn't support Apple Pay is Walmart. Eight years ago we told you when the largest discount retailer in the states launched its own mobile payment service imaginatively titled Walmart Pay (that is what we call in the biz, sarcasm). 

Using Walmart Pay requires you to install the iOS or Android version of the Walmart app on your phone. Earlier this year Kroger tried to apply some pressure to competitor Walmart by accepting Apple Pay for the first time starting last April.

It would be quite a big deal for Apple if Walmart were to add support for Apple Pay like Lowe's did because, eventually, continued growth for Apple Pay will have to come from the addition of more retailers, especially those huge chains that previously held back support for the service.

If you're like me, there is that feeling when Face ID verifies you and that "ding" goes off indicating that your payment via Apple Pay has been accepted. And we have no doubt that Apple loves that sound too since it means more money, albeit in nickels and dimes, is being added to its coffers.