Coming soon to a CVS near you. That would be contactless checkout in a partnership with InComm and PayPal. Starting later this year, in-store customers will be able to use both PayPal and Venmo for payment via a mobile app-based QR code. Importantly, this gives PayPal a physical store footprint with a major retailer, in what it hopes will be the first of others to follow.
The pharmacy vertical has been one of the strongest performers in the pandemic, and major chains CVS and Walgreens have benefited with food, beverage, and household items in addition to medical products. Both retailers are also opening walk-in health clinics that they hope will create more foot traffic and higher sales volumes along with it.
The following excerpt from an Atlanta Inno article reports more on the topic :
An Atlanta-based payments technology company is partnering with two of the biggest names in virtual payments to bring touchless checkout to CVS pharmacies across the country. InComm announced Thursday the company had released QR code technology customers can use to checkout via their PayPal or Venmo accounts without touching a keypad or signing a receipt. The technology will be implemented at all CVS stores, more than 8,000 in the U.S., nationwide in the fourth quarter this year.
“In the midst of Covid-19, we have seen an incredible acceleration of digital payments and touch-free payments,” Mark Britto, executive vice president and chief product officer of PayPal, said in a statement. “Companies of all types and sizes are looking for ways to maintain the safety of their customers and employees, especially through touch-free experiences like curbside pickup and enhanced online shopping.” “In order to best serve our merchant partners during this unprecedented time, we have been exploring a wide variety of new and emerging payment technologies that could help them provide payment methods that abide by general social distancing guidelines,” Stefan Happ, president of InComm, said in a statement.
Overview by Raymond Pucci, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group
