What Stores Take Apple Pay

Headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, Dollar General is one of many people’s largest go-to convenience stores. Formerly known as J. L. Turner and Son, the company has about 18216 stores across the United States.

Since the company prides itself on providing products at meagre prices, it is needless to say that they attract a huge volume of customers.

What kind of payment forms does it accept with the price concern coming in? For example, Apple Pay is one of America’s most convenient payment forms. Does Dollar General accept Apply Pay?

To find the answer to these nagging questions, read on!

What is Apple Pay?

Marketed by Apple as “It’s money, made modern”, Apply pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service app. The app allows you to make in-person payments from your Apple phone, iPad, Mac or watch, and also on the web using Safari. It is a contactless form of payment that makes payment and checkout faster and more convenient. In addition, it digitises a credit or debit card chip and makes transactions possible at a point-of-sale terminal.

Does Dollar General Accept Apple Pay?

Unfortunately, Dollar General does not accept Apple Pay for payments of commodities. Despite announcing on Twitter back in 2020 that they were working on Apple Pay supported payment options in their selected outlets, Dollar General never went forward with the plan.

However, they developed their own contactless form of payment called DG GO. As of now, there are no plans to establish NFC technology in their stores for Apple Pay.

Why is Apple Pay not accepted at Dollar General?

To be able to accept Apple Pay as a form of payment, stores are required to install special terminals with NFC (near-field communication) technology. Although some retailers have made the necessary changes to accept Apple Pay as a form of payment, others choose to refrain from this technology. Dollar General seems to have some legit reasons for making such a choice.

No interest

According to some analysis done by Business Insider, the segment of customers Dollar General typically caters to belongs to a particular household income (less than $40000), but not exclusively to them. By this statistic, the majority of the customers of Dollar General do not own an iPhone and hence have no interest in Apple Pay.

With the majority of the customers being unable and uninterested in paying using Apple Pay, it is only evident that Dollar General does not want to incur the expenses of special NFC terminals.

DG GO

It is Dollar General’s own contactless digital wallet. It has several features that make the checkout and shopping experience fasters and more effortless. For example, it enables you to scan your items while shopping.

Dollar General wants its customers to use the DG GO app rather than other payment methods. So why make space for your competitors in your customer base?

Moreover, the company will have to pay a fee through Apple for card providers. However, the fee will be less if customers use the DG GO app instead.

Cost-cutting and Processing Fee

The third and final reason is associated with the cost-cutting processing fee. Although Apple doesn’t charge its customers or clients a processing fee, the associated credit card companies charge a fee. This charge can get pretty high depending on the relationship between the credit card company and Apple.

Since Dollar General is a low-price convenience store, it has to pay close attention to its operating fees, a part of which is cost-cutting. They can lower operating costs by refusing to partner with Apple since paying out Apple and the associated credit card companies can get expensive. This also enables Dollar General to stick to its low commodity prices, which is its primary concern.

Why should Apple Pay be accepted at Dollar General?

Adaptability is the key to sustainable business. Although Dollar General is doing good work by introducing a digital wallet like its own to prepare for the inevitable, it is limiting its reach to just one facet. The company can expand and open its doors to potentially loyal customers by introducing NFC terminals that enable the acceptance of Apple Pay.

Even though the segment of people who shop at Dollar General and own an iPhone is small, the company can grow by adding different payment methods. It might prove expensive initially, but in the long run, this effort has the potential to reap considerable benefits—both in monetary terms and in acquiring a more significant market share.

DG GO uses QR while Apple Pay uses NFC, the two primary forms of contactless payment in 2022. While both technologies are currently popular, one might overtake the other soon. For that reason, it is best to expand the available options as much as possible.

What other payment options does Dollar General provide to its customers?

The customers can resort to several different payment options offered by Dollar General.

Below are a few of those options:

• The most convenient option for making payments at a convenience store will always stay cash.
• You can also pay with a personal check at the store, as Dollar General accepts those.
• The company accepts most major credit cards like MasterCard, American Express, Visa and Discover.
• Dollar General also accepts PayPal only for its online stores. However, they lack layaway plans.
• Finally, the most recent addition to the list is DG GO. It enables you to scan the products and pay for them while shopping. It makes the entire shopping experience pretty smooth, fast and effortless. Although not every store supports this payment system, it is better to check out your local outlet first.

Apart from these few listed methods, there are no other options in which you can make a payment at a Dollar General store. They do not accept any other smartphone payment options, including Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

How to pay with my phone using DG GO at Dollar General?

There is a sequence of easy-to-follow steps which you can follow to make a payment at Dollar General via DG Go:

1. Search for the DG GO app on Play Store or Apple Store and download and install it.
2. Use the store locator in the app to check whether your local store supports DG GO as one of their payment options. If they don’t, you will have to look for another Dollar General store where the payment option is there.
3. Add your credit card or debit card, bank account, or gift card as your payment method in the app. You can add multiple, but choose one as the default payment option.
4. Add the required personal information.
5. Look out for available digital coupons. If you get any, then save them in the app. DG Go automatically applies the best available coupon to your products.
6. Use the app’s scanner to scan items while you shop to get an idea of your bill. This enables you to keep track of your budget and know if you’re crossing the limit before reaching the checkout counter.
7. Go to the checkout tablet and select the “I’m ready to checkout” option on the app when you are done shopping.
8. Scan the barcode on the checkout tablet through the app, and your payment will be processed. An e-receipt is sent to you instantly once the payment is complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which digital wallets does Dollar General accept payments from?

Currently, Dollar General accepts no third-party digital wallets other than its own DG GO app.

Can I use PayPal at Dollar General?

Yes, you can use PayPal, but not for in-store purchases.

How can I pay via PayPal on the Dollar General website?

Create your account by filling up the necessary information like name, address, and phone number. Add your payment method, i.e., debit card/credit card/bank account. You are set to make payments for your purchases.

Will my credit be charged immediately after I place my order?

No, your credit card will be charged only after your ordered item is shipped. However, your debit card or bank account will be charged immediately at the time of purchase.

What is the amount of tax for online orders?

It can only be determined after assessing the shipment location and local tax laws.

Conclusion

As of now, Dollar General does not accept Apply Pay as one of the forms of payment. It has its Digital wallet and urges its customers to use that. There are several justifiable reasons why Dollar General does not want to resort to this method. There are enough logical contradictory reasons for which it should accept Apple Pay and other digital wallets as forms of payment.

However, with its DG GO app already in place, Dollar General does not have any plans to add new payment methods.