Safeway Credit Card Readers

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Alpha8472
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Safeway Credit Card Readers

Post by Alpha8472 »

I was in a Safeway yesterday when I noticed that they had installed brand new credit card readers. These are the same model that CVS recently installed in former Longs Drugs stores. I first saw these new models inside of a Lunardi's Market over a year ago.
http://www.verifone.com/consumer-facing/mx-860.aspx

I have to say that I like these much better than the old Safeway models. These new credit card readers feature a number pad with push buttons as well as a full color touch screen. The old Safeway pads did not have color and when you had to type in your phone number you really had to jam the plastic pen hard against the screen. The old screens were scratched up from all of the poking and signatures.

I like typing on push buttons much better. It has a tactile feel to it. In olden times, pin pads only had buttons. Those were the best. There was no computer screen to constantly get damaged. I hate poking at a tiny little screen with a plastic stylus.

The worst credit card readers were probably the ones at Target. Target recently replaced them, but the old credit card readers would automatically draw your entire credit card inside of the machine and then spit it back out. If your card was bent or if you forced it in, your credit card would get stuck inside.
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Re: Safeway Credit Card Readers

Post by submariner »

Are they using these units in conjunction with the RFID readers? It really is about time they upgraded, the current ones are getting dated and a lot of them have screens that barely work anymore...
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Re: Safeway Credit Card Readers

Post by Alpha8472 »

I didn't see the RFID reader on top. CVS has the RFID reader, but none of them worked when I tried to use them with my RFID Mastercard PayPass card.

Also, I noticed a brand new Safeway branded atm from Cardtronics. It is the same model as the Cardtronics Chase Bank branded atms just delivered to CVS stores. I see a pattern here. Once CVS gets something new, Safeway wants the same too. First came the credit card readers and then came the atms. In fact, Cardtronics is trying to get a bank to sponsor the atms at Safeway stores. Pay $300 a month and your bank's name can get put on a Safeway atm.

http://www.cardtronics.net/solutions/fi ... ay2009.asp
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Re: Safeway Credit Card Readers

Post by storewanderer »

Those readers have been getting installed in the Chevron locations that lease their register from Chevron too.

I think the SuperValu Albertsons have them also.

Chevron has been installing the ones with the RFID readers, but they only seem to work with certain RFID-enabled cards based on my tests.

Oddly a large group of Chevron (and Texaco) stations in my area that had just installed these new readers (some installed them as recently as a week or two ago) changed ownership and installed different registers and pinpads, but the new pinpads do not contain the RFID reader. By month end, Terrible Herbst will be down to 6 locations (from 35) in Northern Nevada. That assumes they don't sell or close any of those 6, which I think would be quite a gamble to count on not happening.
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Re: Safeway Credit Card Readers

Post by Alpha8472 »

What happened to Terrible Herbst? I would hate to see the decor in their gas stations get eliminated.

The RFID readers are kind of fun to use if they are working properly. However, swiping a card hardly requires any extra effort than tapping a card to an RFID reader.
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Re: Safeway Credit Card Readers

Post by storewanderer »

Terrible Herbst seems to be in big trouble. They are certainly trying to get out of Northern Nevada. I can't tell exactly what is going on. They opened a brand new station in Carson City late last month, a couple weeks after selling their other two there to Jacksons (they sold another in Carson City to Jacksons in June) and their station in Gardnerville to an independent. I'm sure sad to see Terrible Herbst going away. That 0.69 32oz drink promo they've been running since May 1, 2008 has provided me with many nice drinks.

One of the things I've noticed with the RFID readers is when you find one that works and pass your card, you don't have to do anything else. Whereas with some normal terminals, you have to select credit then select yes for amount okay. The RFID thing seems to automatically push it through without the terminal asking you any additional questions. Chevron still needs a signature on the RFID transactions. I heard the no signature thing is going to be for anything below $50 on RFID MasterCards soon at the merchant types approved for no signature (c-store, fast food, drug, grocery, bridge, car wash, etc.).
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Re: Safeway Credit Card Readers

Post by krogerclerk »

The on RFID readers that I have encountered that consistently work are at McDonald's and the Racetrac convenience store chain. I've heard that the Quik Trip convenience store chain has functioning RFID readers in their Atlanta area stores, but haven't checked them out yet.
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Re: Safeway Credit Card Readers

Post by Alpha8472 »

The RFID readers that I have found that work are at 7-Eleven and Rite Aid. Rite Aid got brand new credit card readers months ago with the RFID feature. Best Buy is one nationwide chain that uses RFID readers. Regal Cinemas and Cinemark used to have RFID readers but Regal recently got rid of them. Cinemark abandoned them years ago. AMC at one time used to have them, but also got rid of them years ago.
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Re: Safeway Credit Card Readers

Post by storewanderer »

The Rite Aids in California seem to be pretty heavy on having those new card readers. The Rite Aids I went to in Oregon and Idaho had old (old, old, old) card readers and I saw very few stores with the RFID enabled readers. Rite Aid seems to have done something odd where in CA each store got a couple new registers but the rest of the registers are still old ones. However they replaced the pinpads on all registers. It appears new pinpads connected to old registers do not show a list of the items as scanned, while pinpads connected to the new registers show a list of the items while they are scanned. In the OR and ID locaitons mentioned prior, the only area with new registers was pharmacy (likely due to the pseudo laws).

I forgot about 7-11; they seem to all have the RFID enabled readers. Office Depot has them too, at least at some locations. They seem most common in fast food.

I can't think of any grocery chain using those readers out west besides Whole Foods. Kroger is awfully old school on credit cards relying on paper signature slips and still requiring signatures for all purchases (except at self checkout where you get away without signing as long as it is under $50). Safeway and Albertsons have moved to no signature under $25 and have had some use of electronic signature capture.
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Re: Safeway Credit Card Readers

Post by Alpha8472 »

Walgreens used to have the RFID readers, but got rid of them a while ago. They now use a huge bulky plastic credit card reader that has a cover over the pin pad that obscures people from peeking. Arby's, McDonald's, Jack In The Box, Dairy Queen/Orange Julius, Petco, Sports Authority, Sbarro, Circle K, are some stores in my area that also use the RFID readers.

Most drugstores, entertainment(movie theaters), and gas stations do not require signatures if purchases are under $25. Strangely enough, 7-Eleven reads as "vehicle expenses" on my credit card statement. I've never made a purchase at a 7-Eleven that had a gas station.
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