Tim Cook has claimed that 2015 is going to be the year of Apple Pay, but it might not even face serious competition until 2016.
CurrentC, the payments app in development by the consortium of retailers called MCX, might not launch as soon as the company had hoped, the company’s CEO revealed in a recent interview.
Retailers’ exclusivity period with CurrentC is starting to end, with some stores like Rite Aid and Target planning to accept Apple Pay in the near future. MCX CEO Brian Mooney told Re/code that the company is rolling out a public pilot of its app in Columbus, Ohio, but won’t rush a wider rollout.
“This is a long game,” Mooney said. “Certainly going faster is always better — that’s not necessarily a debatable point. But we’re going to do it right.”
While MXC has slowly been developing CurrentC, Apple, Samsung and Google have already started battling it out for mobile-payments dominance. Apple Pay recently launched in the U.K. and can now be used at over 700,000 locations in the U.S. Stopping the tech giant’s momentum will be a tough task for the group of retailers that are planning to use loyalty cards and coupons to attract users.
CurrentC’s big draw for retailers is that it allows them to circumvent credit card payment fees by routing payments directly through users’ bank accounts. The apps is designed to work with iOS and Android. Rather than using NFC like Apple Pay and Google Pay though, CurrentC uses QR codes to initiate payments. It also doesn’t support traditional credit cards.
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Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
8 responses to “CurrentC might have to wait until 2016 to get its ass kicked”
The only way for CurrentC to be effective is by offering steep discounts and/or rewards by using the app over Apple Pay or any other NFC-based service.
The fact that you have to download the app versus Apple Pay and Samsung Pay being part an integral part of the devices experience makes a huge difference in terms of exposure. But if you tell me I can get an extra 10% off or some other type of SWAG by using CurrentC then maybe it’ll work. But will those discounts/giveaways be any different than paying the so-called steep credit card fees? Might shake out to the be the same if Walmart has to lower their prices even further just to promote CurrentC.
CurrentC’s target market are fiscally responsible people who pay cash for everything and avoid credit cards like the plague. For the typical American who puts everything on a card and pays it off each month (or not) they won’t want this. For those who don’t have a large nest egg built up, it’s almost better to charge things to a card and if you have an unexpected emergency that requires cash, you have that liquidity and can put off the credit card payment for a while. If you pay for everything using your cash and you have an emergency, you don’t have any liquidity and are going to credit. Hopefully at that point, credit will suffice. But if you’re talking about paying a ransom or bail (I guess those are the same things), credit won’t do you much good.
Forgive my ignorance, but don’t you have check cards in the USA? It’s like a credit card, except it’s linked directly to you checking account. No credit, just what you have in your account, with the ease of swiping a card rather than writing a check. You can also use it online.
Those are called Debit cards and for many people, we use it almost exclusively for everything. Unfortunately, credit cards enable people to live beyond their means and is the largest payment method used in US. Something like 2/3rds or 75% of all purchases. Yes, you get “bonus points” and “cash back” on some purchases, but it won’t help you in the long run if you run a debit at the end of the month.
CurrentC is a sinking ship. If you want it and are stupid enough to link your checking account to it with little security, be my guest.
CurrentC, serious competition? Get real!
Pointless to use either unless you’re with a major retailing credit card company. Still waiting for my bank to support apple pay or CurrentC if that’s still around.
Clue: Google Wallet never really happened on Android although I do have a friend that really likes it.