Shopping at CVS? Pretty soon you can just Venmo the drug store.
Usually when you open the Venmo (or PayPal) app, it's to send a payment to another user — like your roommate who ponied up for the pizza delivery. But starting in the fall, you'll be able to use those apps to pay with your phone at CVS Pharmacy stores across the U.S.
Even if you don't have digital payment systems like Apple, Google, or Samsung Pay set up on your smartphone, you probably have Venmo or PayPal since it works on most devices. After October, most standalone CVS drug stores will let you use your Venmo account balance, connected credit and debit cards, or bank account to scan a QR code and shell out for that shampoo, floss, and hand lotion. It'll work the same for PayPal users, too. (PayPal owns Venmo, but each operates a separate app.)
By using QR codes that you'll open in the app to scan at checkout, you can effectively and easily Venmo CVS much like you would to send over money to a friend. Both Android and iOS users will have access to this contactless payment method when it launches at 8,200 CVS stores, which accounts for most of the locations across the U.S.
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The QR code setup might seem a bit basic, but the low-tech concept means you can keep the payment process touchless in the middle of a pandemic. In fact, QR codes are even starting to pop up more and more, especially at restaurants.
No receipts or keypads required.
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
