Walgreens pushing credit cards

timanny
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Walgreens pushing credit cards

Post by timanny »

I had to make a quick run to a local Walgreens (Las Vegas - Bonanza/Lamb) last weekend and they have started having their cashiers push Walgreens Mastercards. As a former longtime Macy's employee, I hated doing that because the customers hated it, and would sometimes get downright hostile just because they were asked. Department stores have always done that, but why is Walgreens doing it now? Nobody is going to want to pay interest rates on a pack of gum or a People magazine. I had heard that the old WT Grant chain had started doing that toward the end in order to try and save the company. Is Walgreens in financial trouble?
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Re: Walgreens pushing credit cards

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

A bloated company? Maybe (they're currently shopping the overseas Boots chain),but we are far from seeing the bottom fall out with WBA.The my Walgreens MasterCard is actually issued by synchrony Bank (a credit card issuing specialist)which most certainly collects licensing fees as part of this partnership.Co-branded(with Visa or MasterCard)store cards aren't exactly new,and with exception of those connected with some of the well-to-do behemoth retailers many aren't directly issued by retail chains but rather third party credit card issuers.Target and Macy's have long been pushing their store credit cards,and those are rock solid retailers.

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Re: Walgreens pushing credit cards

Post by BillyGr »

That Synchrony group is apparently pretty big - they do cards around here (NY) for a local chain of tire and muffler type shops.

Not sure exactly what they offer, but I suspect it may be open to some that would not as easily qualify for the major company cards, as that way they still have an option to offer to people who need work done immediately.
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Re: Walgreens pushing credit cards

Post by jamcool »

Synchrony used to be the credit card arm of GE. They also do cards for Sam’s Club, Chevron, and other retailers
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Re: Walgreens pushing credit cards

Post by Super S »

BillyGr wrote: April 28th, 2022, 8:15 am That Synchrony group is apparently pretty big - they do cards around here (NY) for a local chain of tire and muffler type shops.

Not sure exactly what they offer, but I suspect it may be open to some that would not as easily qualify for the major company cards, as that way they still have an option to offer to people who need work done immediately.
I have a Chevron card which is issued by Synchrony Bank. They have an arrangement where their card is accepted at various repair shops called Synchrony Car Care. I have never used that, and at the high interest this card has (I pay in full each month) there are better options to finance car repairs.
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Re: Walgreens pushing credit cards

Post by rwsandiego »

Super S wrote: April 30th, 2022, 10:14 am
BillyGr wrote: April 28th, 2022, 8:15 am That Synchrony group is apparently pretty big - they do cards around here (NY) for a local chain of tire and muffler type shops.

Not sure exactly what they offer, but I suspect it may be open to some that would not as easily qualify for the major company cards, as that way they still have an option to offer to people who need work done immediately.
I have a Chevron card which is issued by Synchrony Bank. They have an arrangement where their card is accepted at various repair shops called Synchrony Car Care. I have never used that, and at the high interest this card has (I pay in full each month) there are better options to finance car repairs.
I have the same Chevron card. They send me mailers about 6-month interest-free financing as long as the balance is paid in full within the six months. I've never taken advantage of that feature.

Synchrony, along with Comenity, is one of the largest issuers of store-branded captive (can only be used at the retailer) and merchant-branded VISA/MasterCards, such as the Verizon VISA. They also run the rewards programs associated with the cards. Unlike Chase and Citi, the cards are not co-branded. They are starting to implement a single platform where a cardholder can manage all of their Synchrony cards in one place, much like what Capital One has done. Kroger has had a MasterCard for years. Theirs is issued by US Bank.

From what I've read, the WT Grant credit program was one of the reasons for their demise. They granted credit to almost anyone and suffered the losses one would expect to occur when granting credit to consumers who could not pay the bills. Walgreens, like other retailers, gets paid a fee based on transactions and outstanding balances. The issuer (Synchrony) develops the credit standards and assumes the risk that a cardholder will not repay the debt. Sometimes, there is a risk-sharing agreement between the issuer and the merchant. This will usually happen when the merchant wants to offer their cards to a broad base of consumers, including some whose credit scores are below prime.

Regarding paying interest on a pack of gum, when a customer uses their bank-issued credit card to make a small purchase and does not pay the balance in full each month, they are paying interest on that small purchase. The Walgreens-branded MasterCard is no different. The Walgreens captive card is a bit of a head-scratcher, but it could be a way to grab larger-ticket purchases.
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Re: Walgreens pushing credit cards

Post by storewanderer »

Similar to the CVS Carepass program that the CVS stores at this point are getting near-universal "hell" to push and sign people up for, the Walgreens Credit Card is becoming an increased focus point for the chain. At this point it still seems to come down to the District Manager how hard the stores are pushing it (or ignoring it) but there is a big push with the chain that they are supposed to be offering the card to every customer.

Kroger has had a branded credit card for years and they would print "apply now" invitations on the receipts. It wasn't for every customer and the "offer print" came based on some data they had and fed through the loyalty card. If a customer was getting an offer it would give the cashier an alert when they totaled the transaction and they had to acknowledge the alert (clear-override-enter was the bypass key sequence). The theory was if you got an "apply now" invitation on the receipt the cashier was supposed to tell you about it. It rarely happened. It never happens anymore.
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Re: Walgreens pushing credit cards

Post by HCal »

Many successful retailers have co-branded credit cards, so I don't think this is necessarily a sign of trouble. It's also common in other industries, for example airlines sometimes make more money on their credit cards than from flights.

But this is a new thing for pharmacy chains, which are probably looking for new revenue streams. I really hope it doesn't catch on, as it's annoying for both customers and cashiers, and the card offerings are usually not that great compared to what is available directly from banks.
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Re: Walgreens pushing credit cards

Post by DFWRetaileWatcher »

jamcool wrote: April 28th, 2022, 12:27 pm Synchrony used to be the credit card arm of GE. They also do cards for Sam’s Club, Chevron, and other retailers

That could answer the OP's (in part). The current CEO of Walgreens previously ran the operations for Sam's Club, where I'm sure it was normal to push credit cards given the big ticket items sold and the volume of sales per customer.

It's a low effort way for any business to gather better consumer data and earn supplemental revenue from the interest.

I do think the idea that many Walgreens customers would sign up for a store credit card just to buy toilet paper or deodorant is absurd, but I guess it doesn't hurt for them to give it a try any way.
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Re: Walgreens pushing credit cards

Post by Alpha8472 »

The Walgreens credit card does give 3 percent Walgreens Cash rewards on grocery and health and wellness purchases outside of Walgreens. You get 1 percent cash back everywhere Mastercard is accepted.

This card also gives discounts at Walgreens. This would be a good card to get to save some money. However, it would still be cheaper to shop somewhere else.
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