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MCX CurrentC Postponed Failed Dead Mobile Payment NFC
Retail

NFC Future Bright As Mobile Payment Provider CurrentC “Postpones” Launch Again

May 17, 2016

MCX CurrentC Postponed Failed Failure Dead Mobile Payment NFC Walmart Apple Pay Android Pay

Way back in 2012, the world of mobile payments was new, exciting, and largely uncharted. Companies were posturing to figure out what the future of the payments would look like. NFC tech in phones was a fledgling technology and was far from a sure bet for payment tech. It was during this time that a collection of merchants called the Merchant Payment Consortium (MCX) was formed to create their ideal payment system. Paramount for the new system was the ability to collect user data and avoid credit card processing fees. Based on QR codes, the sharing of data between merchants, and direct withdrawals from the user’s checking account, the CurrentC mobile payment system was created. Four years later and still struggling to come to market, MCX finds CurrentC the odd man out.

MCX has just announced that it will postpone the launch of CurrentC. The postponement feels rather permanent as no timeline or next step was provided by MCX. In fact the Consortium simultaneously announced layoffs and a change of business direction. The layoffs appear to be significant, involving around 30 people which seemingly represents around 1/3 of the company’s staff. Looking through the double-talk and corporate jargon of the press release, CurrentC essentially has one foot in the grave. According to the company, the decision was made “utilizing unique feedback from the marketplace and [the] Columbus pilot.” Not sure what this “unique” feedback was, but the “marketplace” has been decidedly vocal against the payment system for some time. The QR system was overly complex, the lack of privacy concerning, and the ability for merchants (or hackers) to draw directly from a bank account scary. By contrast, competing mobile payment systems almost universally rely on contactless NFC tech that hides user data and tokenizes credit card information, valuing privacy above all else.  

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by Doug Parker
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Chase BoA Bank of America Wells Fargo ATM eATM NFC Apple Pay Android Pay Samsung Pay
Business, Retail

Why Mobile Payment ATMs Signal The End Of Debit Cards

February 3, 2016

Chase BoA Bank of America Wells Fargo ATM eATM NFC Apple Pay Android Pay Samsung Pay

While paying for things at retail is getting simpler and faster everyday thanks to mobile payment systems such as Apple Pay, the ATM experience has only gotten worse over the past 6 months. The introduction of the EMV chip on debit cards means we have returned to the olden days, where ATMs hold onto your card until the transaction is complete. Recently, while I was waiting the 30+ seconds it now takes for the cash machine to simply read my card, I pondered, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if I could just walk up to an ATM and use Apple Pay / Android Pay to get my cash out.”

Either the ATMs are mic’d or I am not the only one who has thought this because 3 out of the 4 largest US banks almost simultaneously announced that they plan to roll out contactless-payment ATMs. Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo will all begin the process of upgrading their machines this year. BoA will be the first to market, intruding NFC equipped terminals by the end of February at selects retail banks in NYC, Charlotte, Boston, Silicon Valley, and San Francisco. Though the bank has told employees not to disclose which mobile payment services it will be compatible with, it is tough to imagine that the ATMs won’t at least support Apple Pay and Android Pay. If a bank’s debit card is already compatible with a mobile payment service, integration should be trivial. (Perhaps Apple is asking banks not to announce Apple Pay integration so the company can make a big announcement at their rumored upcoming March press event.)  

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by Doug Parker
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Square Contactless Apple Pay Android NFC EMV Chip
Retail

Square Releases Next Gen Card Reader With NFC And EMV

November 23, 2015

Square Contactless Apple Pay Android NFC EMV Chip

Over the past twelve months a lot has changed with how you use your credit card to pay for things. Almost a year ago, Apple launched the most polished and high profile contactless (NFC) payment system to date. People who had never heard of mobile payments suddenly knew what it was and were using it to easily and safely buy everything from a Big Mac to their prescriptions drugs. This year Google, Samsung, and LG launched similar NFC based payment systems. The second big change in credit cards was the push for EMV chip equipped cards (also known as chip-and-signature). At the start of October, retailers became fully liable for any fraudulent purchases made via a magnetic based ‘swipe,” while fraudulent purchases made via the EMV chip or through contactless payment are still protected.

The problem is these changes all require new equipment, an easy proposition for a large, multi-door retailer but a tall order for a small boutique. Square, whose original phone / tablet card-swipe accessory changed the credit card processing business, has begun shipping their next generation card reader. The small, Bluetooth connected device allows a small business to easily begin accepting contactless payments, such as Apple Pay, or chip-and-signature based payments. Simply pair the reader to the phone / tablet you use as a register and then connect it to your Square account and you are ready to go. Since the system is Bluetooth based, you can also have the original “swipe” accessory connected to your register simultaneously. At $49, Square’s new device is a no brainer. All it takes is one fraudulent transaction and you could be out a lot more than $49! But the tech isn’t just good news to retailers; given the number of Square-based registers we come across in a week, it is easy to see that the company’s new reader could spur the next leap in the widespread adaption of contactless payments.

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by Doug Parker
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Retail

Chase Teams Up With CurrentC To Launch QR Based Chase Pay

October 27, 2015

Chase Pay CurrentC MCX

Just when we though the mobile payment space was starting to get its ducks in a row and align behind NFC technology, Chase has announced a QR based service. Chase’s Chase Pay platform runs on the much beleaguered CurrentC platform. Unlike competing mobile payment systems, which utilize wireless technology triggered by your fingerprint, CurrentC requires the scanning of QR codes. For businesses that make up MCX consortium, Chase’s involvement is great news and must feel like a lifeline. Besides being the first real vote of confidence for the platform, prior to Chase’s announcement users were stuck using either a store credit card to make purchases or connect the app directly to their checking account. Thanks to Chase Pay, CurrentC users will be able to charge to a Chase branded credit or debit card. Chase expect the service to launch in early to mid 2016, around the same time CurrentC is expected to launch.

But 2016 is a ways off and, if MCX’s previous CurrentC timelines are any indication, I would not hold my breathe for a launch in the early part of the year. MCX was formed in 2012 to create retailer buy-in for the CurrentC technology; if it does actually launch in 2016, it will already be 4 years behind the times. The original idea of CurrentC was to offer a payment system that every phone had the technology to use. But nearly all phones currently being sold include NFC payment technology and every day more people own phones with the tech. Relying on a multi-step process utilizing a phone’s camera and screen to scan and display codes is only becoming more needless and cumbersome over time. And let’s not forget the rise of wearable devices, which won’t work the CurrentC QR system. All told, the CurrentC service was slow to launch and has probably missed its window. The delay was likely due to decisions needing to satisfy all the companies which paid to join MCX; they all wanted a say in creating a payment service that benefited them. While CurrentC does offer much better store loyalty program integration versus other mobile payment systems, this is truly a side product of one of the primary CurrentC purposes: data capture. MCX designed their technology to capturing users’ buying habits across retailers and to share that information with member businesses. The other primary purpose of CurrentC was to eliminate credit card transaction fees charged to retailers (former Walmart CEO Lee Scott once said “I don’t know that MCX will succeed, and I don’t care. As long as Visa suffers.”).

If all of this sounds bad for the consumer compared to the high level of privacy, card choice, and convince offered by Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay, you are right! Consumer sentiment is overwhelmingly negative towards CurrentC and retailers are listening. Over the past few months several MCX members (including Rite Aid and Best Buy), who had been stuck in a very penalizing exclusivity clause, began offering NFC based mobile payments as soon as they were legally able to. Given the momentum, it is surprising (and disappointing) that Chase, a strong Apple Pay supporter, would have spent the time and resources to develop Chase Pay.

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by Doug Parker
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Retail

The Way We Pay Changes Today, Will EMV Chip Or Mobile Prevail

October 1, 2015

EMV Chip Credit Card October 1st

We spend a lot of time at Circuits And Cable Knit speculating on the future of fashion, wearables, and retail tech. What might be possible, what might catch on, and what won’t we be able to live without. There is one thing that is not up for discussion through: the way we pay for things will change. And today is the day that the change begins. Starting October 1st, retailers are now liable for any fraud that is the result of a magnetically swiped charge card.

You might have noticed over the past year that all of your credit cards have been replaced with a version featuring a chip on the front left side. This is called an EMV chip (an acronym of it’s creators Europay, MasterCard and Visa) and retailers will now be asking you to use it instead of simply running your card through the magnetic reader. EMV chips have been common place for decades on charge cards around the globe but not in the US. Banks have been hesitant to push users toward the tech because, while it is more secure than our current magnetic swipe system, it is more complex and cumbersome and requires new payment terminals. But with the US ranking as one of the leading country of credit card fraud, banks are now willing to force the change.

There are two implementations of how an EMV equipped card can be used.  

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by Doug Parker
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Retail

Android Pay Officially Launches Today

September 10, 2015

Android Pay Launches

Google has announced that Android Pay will officially launch today. After being rumored to premiere several weeks ago, the company’s Google Wallet replacement will start hitting handsets over the next few days. Android Pay is functionally equivalent to Apple Pay, providing Android users a tokenized NFC payment system. Unlike Google Wallet, which required users to preload a virtual charge card, with Android Pay you simply connect your credit or debit card to make charges. Android Pay should be accepted any place Apple Pay and other contactless payment methods are accepted.

Google’s launch of Android Pay is well timed, hitting just before the launch of new iPhones and Samsung’s competing service. Samsung’s service will officially begin on September 28th in the US and, unlike Apple Pay and Android Pay, will allow you to use your Galaxy handset to pay at any magnetic swipe register. All 3 services will beat the much delayed, and outdated, CurrentC to market; the QR based CurrentC began its first single market test a few weeks ago.

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by Doug Parker
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Retail

Leak Suggests Android Pay Launch On August 26th

August 25, 2015

Android Pay Launch McDonald's

It seems that Google may want to ensure they beat Samsung Pay to market. A document leaked from McDonald’s (of all places!) pegs Android Pay’s launch date as Wednesday, August 26th…that’s right, tomorrow. We don’t know how reliable McDonald’s internal documents are since obviously there is little precedent. That said, if Android OS Marshmallow (which includes Android Pay) launches tomorrow it would follow Google’s usual Wednesday release cycle. It also wouldn’t be surprising that Google is not making a lot of noise around the launch. When Apple Pay launched last October, it did so rather quietly – likely a move to ensure there were minimal launch issues. Even with a launch tomorrow, you probably shouldn’t rush out to pay with your phone at Bloomies through, these updates usually take a while to percolate down to your specific handset.

But perhaps things aren’t so binary; there could be a third option besides ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ The document also lists an August launch for Samsung Pay. While Samsung Pay does not officially launch until September 28th, the service opened to select users in the US (read: beta) on August 25th. If tomorrow comes and goes with no general release of Marshmallow, the August 26th date for Android Pay could be indicative of the start of a wide beta test of the service.

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by Doug Parker
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