Modesto, Calif.-based Save Mart Supermarkets announced this past week it is now accepting Apple Pay at 217 locations in northern California and norther Nevada, according to a press release.

Save Mart operates supermarkets under the Save Mart, S-Mart Foods, Lucky, Maxx Value Foods, and FoodMaxx banners. 

"Expect new things in our stores this year — the first of which is Apple Pay. We are working diligently to transform the shopping experience for our customers and this cutting-edge technology will help to speed them through checkout," said Nicole Piccinini Pesco, co-president and chief strategy and branding officer of Save Mart. "Accepting Apple Pay provides shoppers a secure and private way to pay for their groceries and we’ve added support for this new mobile payment method solely for their benefit and convenience."

In related news, Bank of America announced in its recent earnings report that some 800,000 of its customers have added a collective 1.1 million bank cards to Apple Pay.