The service allows more than 85 million active Balance Rewards members to earn and redeem points in-store through the mobile payments service. Walgreens customers can purchase items and earn points which they can then spend in-store.
Customers tap their phone on the PIN pad instead of showing the actual Rewards card at checkout. They can pay for purchases by either using Android Pay again or using another payment method, saving them from carrying another card around.
According to Android Police site, it is not clear when exactly this functionality went live. Android Pay 1.4 was released back in June 2016, adding support for future loyalty cards. The cached version of Googles loyalty program support page (last updated August 15) mentions Walgreens. More than likely, support for the loyalty program started rolling out recently, and only now Walgreens is formally announcing it.
The only other NFC loyalty card supported in Android Pay is My Coke Rewards, which only works at select Coca-Cola vending machines, the site continues.
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