Two more retailers are joining the many others that support Apple Pay in the United States, with H-E-B adding and Home Depot quietly returning support to their stores. H-E-B grocery chain confirms that there will be a phased rollout of digital tap-to-pay services across its 380 outlets. This includes support for Apple Pay, along with Samsung Pay and Google Pay. Apple Pay will be rolled out across the next week at flagship locations in the San Antonio area. Through October and early November, other stores across Texas will be enabled. The tap-to-pay support includes all cash registers, self-checkout points, pharmacies, and branded restaurants. While you can’t use it at fuel pumps, it will be usable at payment windows. At the same time, Home Depot is also bringing Apple Pay to its locations. It is likely that Home Depot is finally adopting Apple Pay to answer consumer demand, and to keep up with its competitors.
Google was just ordered to open its App Store to Rivals
Google has to put meaningful antitrust remedies in place and change how it runs its app store for Android devices. The case has dragged on for years, and while the ruling is noteworthy, this probably won’t be the end of it, since Google has already appealed. for the next three years Google cannot pay developers to keep their apps exclusive to the Google Play app store, nor can it force app makers to only use the Google Pay billing system. The search and mobile giant must also open up its app store to allow makers of third-party app marketplaces to access the same catalog of apps. And Google must feature these third-party apps in its own app store. It’s a potentially big hit, because it means revenues would flow between Android users and the app makers without flowing through Google’s systems—which is where Google takes a cut, normally. The purported legal goal of these multiple, third party-owned app stores is to undo the competition-quashing control that Google and Apple allegedly exert over their own app markets, which should benefit smaller app makers who can’t afford to pay for partnerships, and also the app consumers themselves.
Square makes Orders platform generally available to sellers in US
Square’s new Orders platform is now generally available to sellers in the United States after being completed during the third quarter. The new order-based infrastructure is designed to help sellers complete a sale “anywhere and anyhow,” the provider of commerce solutions. The commerce platform’s payments and ordering capabilities include Pre-Auth and Bar Tabs for sellers of all sizes. With the Orders platform, Square will be able to provide more checkout flexibility to sellers — whether their customers are seeking to order ahead, open a bar tab or set up a subscription, sellers using Square will be able to offer more options to capture sales across their businesses.