H-E-B debuts digital tap to pay

H-E-B says it began a phased rollout Oct. 7 that will allow customers to make purchases using digital tap-to-pay services such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay at its flagship stores.

H-E-B will launch tap to pay region by region, and the service will become available at groups of stores each day throughout the month, according to a news release. The service will first become available at H-E-B stores in the San Antonio area, where it will take about a week to launch at every location in the region. Throughout the month, the retailer said it will continue to roll out the service to all other H-E-B stores across Texas, as well as Mi Tienda stores in Houston.

With the availability of the technology, H-E-B customers can tap to pay with their physical cards and by using their digital wallets at cash registers, self-checkout lanes and H-E-B-brand restaurants and pharmacy locations. Initially, tap-to-pay services will not be available at H-E-B fuel pumps but will be accepted at the fuel station payment window, the release said.

“At H-E-B, we’re always exploring a broad range of technologies to enhance how customers shop and pay for products,” said Ashwin Nathan, group vice president of marketing and payments for H-E-B. “This has been one of the most requested services we have received from our customers and partners, and we are excited to now make this popular technology available at all our H-E-B locations.”

Earlier this summer, the retailer added tap-to-pay services at its Central Market and Joe V’s Smart Shop stores across the state.