CINCINNATI — The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) announced today it is introducing Kroger Pay, a mobile payment solution that securely combines a customer’s payment and loyalty card information to create a faster checkout experience. The company is also launching a new Kroger REWARDS debit card, a rewarding payment option for customers.
“Kroger is redefining the customer experience by creating innovative ways to pay at our stores and online,” said Gary Millerchip, CEO of Kroger Personal Finance and corporate strategy integration lead. “Kroger Pay and the Kroger REWARDS debit card are two more ways we are transforming our payments model to benefit our customers.”
How Kroger Pay Works
Kroger Pay is a quick, safe and easy-to-use feature within the Kroger Family of Stores apps—available for iOS and Android devices. After a customer enters their custom PIN or biometrics, the app provides customers with a single-use QR code to scan at the terminal to quickly communicate payment and loyalty card information, which includes digital coupons and personalized offers. The single-step solution reduces checkout time and creates a more frictionless experience for both store associates and customers. Kroger Pay is available to use at both traditional checkout lanes and self-checkout stations.
Kroger Pay also rewards customers who use a payment option from the Kroger Family of Cards—1-2-3 REWARDS credit card, REWARDS prepaid debit card and the newly-released Kroger REWARDS debit card—allowing customers to earn fuel points and grocery rewards with a single scan. Kroger Pay can also be linked to any major debit, credit or prepaid card.
“Kroger Pay is one of the few mobile wallets that pairs loyalty and payment,” said Mary Ellen Adcock, group vice president of operations. “The application of this exciting technology is another step in our front-end experience transformation.”
Kroger Pay recently launched in the retailer’s Columbus, Ohio division. The service will roll out to 10 additional markets in the spring, with plans to go nationwide later this year.
New Kroger REWARDS Debit Card
Kroger is also launching a Kroger REWARDS debit card, a payment option that connects directly to a customer’s checking account. The Kroger REWARDS debit card offers benefits to customers, including bonus fuel points and Our Brands discounts, and the rewards double when the card is used through Kroger Pay.
“Our new Kroger REWARDS debit card is a lower-cost payment option, enabling us to offer our customers additional savings when they are shopping in a store or online or fueling up,” continued Millerchip. “Through Restock Kroger, we are lowering operating costs, and our new debit card is another way we are doing just that while also rewarding customers who use it.”
The Kroger REWARDS debit card is currently available for use in Columbus, Ohio and Colorado (King Soopers and City Market). This spring, the payment option will be available in all Kroger Family of Stores.
About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated to our Purpose: to Feed the Human Spirit™. We are nearly half a million associates who serve over nine million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and 2,800 retail food stores under a variety of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.
