JPMorgan, Kroger team up for mobile payments

The partnership will be Kroger’s first venture into mobile payments as the retailer seeks to bring its shopping experience into the digital age.

That’s prompted banks, card networks, retailers and technology companies to pour investment dollars into their own payment applications in the hopes of developing the winning combination that will drive consumer adoption. Apple recently debuted a person-to-person payments network in the hopes of increasing usage of its Apple Pay service, whileJPMorgan acquired Merchant Customer Exchange LLC’s payment technology this year to expand its capabilities.

For Kroger, the partnership with Chase made sense because the lender’s mobile wallet uses the familiar barcode-like system that the supermarket already employs to scan grocery items and other products. That means Kroger was able to retain its existing infrastructure instead of having to set up a new system like those used to process near-field communication, or NFC, transactions.

Barcode, or QR, transactions also offer the retailer more data about a consumer than NFC systems. Kroger is hoping to introduce Chase Pay to about 600 stores next year.