Have companies not yet worked out that trying to go against Apple rarely seems to work out? If not, they may be learning quickly — with Apple Pay rival CurrentC reportedly delaying its arrival yet again, while laying off 30 of its staff.
Hardly a ringing endorsement, is it?
In a statement from the CEO of MCX (the company behind CurrentC), it was noted that: “Utilizing unique feedback from the marketplace and our Columbus pilot, MCX has made a decision to concentrate more heavily in the immediate term on other aspects of our business including working with financial institutions, like our partnership with Chase, to enable and scale mobile payment solutions.”
“As part of this transition, MCX will postpone a nationwide rollout of its CurrentC application. As MCX has said many times, the mobile payments space is just beginning to take shape – it is early in a long game. MCX’s owner-members remain committed to our future.”
While MCX certainly isn’t calling it quits for certain, a spokesperson told TechCrunch that it is focused on the “long game” in payments. This isn’t the first time CurrentC has been delayed, either. Last year, the company’s CEO revealed that it wasn’t going to be launching in 2015 as originally promised.
CurrentC’s big selling point for retailers is (was?) the fact that it lets them circumvent credit card payment fees by routing payments directly through users’ bank accounts, while the service would also work with both iOS and Android. However, it doesn’t use NFC like Apple Pay and Google Pay — opting for QR codes to initiate payments instead — and nor does it support traditional credit cards.
Source: TechCrunch
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
3 responses to “Apple Pay rival CurrentC has been delayed yet again”
In Hollywood, we call it “going on hiatus” to reduce embarrassment. And then you never see that TV show again.
I don’t need another direct draw from my checking account. I have paypal for that and there is no advantage to me as a customer to draw from my bank account. I route ALL of my spending through my AMEX in order to get miles/status on Delta and I can hook that all through with Apple Pay. For that reason alone, I’d never use this service and I’d imagine I’m not alone in this.
If you’ve read their design document / literature the usage is abysmal as well. Have to open the app and then scan a QR Code and some other steps. Plus they’re design is to side step the credit card companies and need direct access to your bank account. Thanks, but no!