Daniel Hruska Card payments in the United States are on a completely different level than here in the Czech Republic, where you can pay contactless almost "anywhere". A large number of shops where you can pay by card already have contactless terminals. However, outdated cards with magnetic strips still dominate in the US, and Apple is trying to change that with its system Pay.
Everything sounds almost like a fairy tale, Apple has reached an agreement with the biggest banks there, so there should be no problem. But maybe he is coming. And maybe this is just a temporary cry of a blind branch. Some retailers are working with Wal-Mart to modify or completely disable contactless payment terminals so that customers cannot pay with Apple Pay.
Wal-Mart, the world's largest chain of discount stores, along with other companies, has been preparing its CurrentC payment system since 2012, which should be launched next year. The Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), as this association is called, is a real threat to Apple. Apple and its Pay are simply crawling CurrentC, which of course the stakeholders don't like and they are doing the easiest thing they can - cutting off Apple Pay.
It was known a month ago that Wal-Mart and Best Buy would not support Apple Pay. Last week, Rite Aid, a pharmacy chain with more than 4 locations in the US, also began modifying its NFC terminals to disable payments via Apple Pay and Google Wallet. Rite Aid will support CurrentC. Another chain of pharmacies, CVS Stores, was similarly preserved.
The battle for supremacy among mobile payments is causing a rift between banks and retailers. Banks have embraced Apple Pay with enthusiasm because they see the potential to further increase the number of purchases (and therefore profits) made with debit and credit cards. So Apple succeeded with banks, but not so much with retailers. Of the current 34 partners mentioned on Apple's website, eight of them with different names fall under Foot Locker and one is Apple itself.
Conversely, not a single bank expressed support for CurrentC. This is due to the fact that the entire system is designed so that it does not depend on the middle link, that is, on the banks and their fees for card payments. Therefore, CurrentC will never be a replacement for a plastic payment card as such, but rather a special alternative for customers with loyalty or prepaid cards of the store in question.
When the iOS and Android app comes out next year, you'll pay using a QR code displayed on your device and the purchase amount will be immediately deducted from your account. If you choose to use one of the cards offered by CurrentC partners as a payment method, you will receive discounts or coupons from the merchant.
This, of course, appeals to merchants who would have their own system and at the same time be exempt from card payment fees. So it's no wonder that, apart from Wal-Mart, MCX members include (chains unknown here) Gap, Kmart, Best Buy, Old Navy, 7-Eleven, Kohls, Lowes, Dunkin' Donuts, Sam's Club, Sears, Kmart, Bed , Bath & Beyond, Banana Republic, Stop & Shop, Wendy's and many gas stations.
We will have to wait until next year to see how the whole situation unfolds. Until then, it can be expected that other stores will block their NFC terminals to prevent competitor payments. However, we can hope that the simplicity of touching Touch ID in Apple Pay will win out over the pointless QR code generation and tie-in with loyalty cards in CurrentC. Not that the situation in the US directly affects us, but the success of Apple Pay will certainly affect its presence in Europe.
However, if we look at the current situation from the opposite side, Apple Pay works. If it didn't work, surely sellers wouldn't block their NFC terminals for fear of losing their profits from CurrentC. And the new iPhones 6 have only been on sale for a month. What will happen in two years when the vast majority of iPhones in use will support Apple Pay?
Sellers can also block Apple Pay because the customer doesn't give them any personal information at all through this method. Neither name nor surname - nothing. Apple Pay is much more secure than conventional payment cards in the US. By the way, do you feel safe that all the data (except the PIN) is listed on a piece of plastic that you can lose at any time?
What MCX is trying to do is replace something secure with something less secure (third-party apps can't store data in the Secure Element, i.e. a component in the NFC chip), something convenient for something less convenient (Touch ID vs. QR code), and something anonymous. Living in the US, ConnectC would not be an interesting service for me at all. How about you, which method would you prefer?
Isn't it a bit premature to assess security? One system is not out yet and the other is in the beginning. And what we will interpret, there are always different people, see the leak of photos from iCloud. With classic payment cards, it also looked unusable at the beginning, and who thinks so now?
When I look at it from the other side, for example, it really bothers me how banks try to constantly increase their margins. I'm not at all surprised that merchants are trying to exclude banks from the payment process. If I could leave them out of it while keeping the simplicity of paying by card, I'd be more than happy. Of course, I don't want to go back to the time when I have to pull out an envelope of money for every purchase.
Well, the problem with CurrentC is mainly that it bypasses classic cards by directly connecting to a bank account, which is already min. this is quite discouraging. In addition, there are other things such as user tracking and database sharing among members of the consortium, but also with third parties. What is most incomprehensible is the conditional access to the equivalent of our health card.
Well, banks' margins in accepting cards are steadily decreasing. Just to give you an idea of the reduction in the card issuer's profit after the regulation of the EU fee, they will drop by billions. We read everywhere that the commissions are between 1-5% - the higher value is mainly in risky sectors... But the bank gives over 1% of the commission to the association, and that's a profit, if you subtract the processing costs. From what will the bank invest in innovation?
Btw, perhaps every company wants to maximize profits, what do you think?
A possible scenario: as a response to the blocking, Apple and Google will change their terms of business and will not allow CurrentC-type applications to be added to their AppStores.
That's exactly what someone should tick. The Appstore is not some small store and this is an abuse of monopoly (similar to Walmart). I don't like some company regulating my life with their business interests like banning bitcoin and the like.
So history shows that when Apple (Jobs) wants it, it gets it. A similar example is, for example, disabling phy. Adobe to get Flash into the AppStore. When Adobe also exported to the AppStore within CS5, Apple simply changed the conditions that only things generated via Xcode can be in the AppStore.
Yes, that confirms my words.
I'll dig into the crap :) The hypermarket chain is called Walmart (Wal-Mart is the name of the operator). Kmart and Dunkin' Donuts were on the Czech market, Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic are still here. So these are not "unknown strings".
And I'm going to dig into you and tell me where is Old Navy in CR? :-) I live in Canada, I have an Old Navy two blocks from the barracks, so I'm not sure I've ever seen it in CR...
Where is the CR Gap? I would really be interested in that.
Oh yeah, you're right… the bug crept in. Thanks. It wasn't in the Czech Republic, the malls all look the same :)
It just seems like a scream… within two years it will be possible to pay with Apple Pay at Walmart too—and of course with great glory.
I think so too, Apple has more power than some Walmart, I can imagine that IP6 owners will go to another store to be able to pay Apple pay, in the US it's about the brand and those who really love Apple, as Tim says, will go to pay where is an apple payment and sooner or later everyone succumbs :) that's how I see it :).
To another store? I really don't think so. Maybe a few individuals, but those will be the exceptions (who have to tinker with the new phone). Walmart in the US is like TV Nova 10 years ago - there are alternatives, but not worth the change. Additionally, Walmart has twice as many stores as all of its competitors combined (Kmart, Publix, Target, ShopKo, Meijer + BJ's and Costco for Sam's Club).
the problem is that NFC has been around for 10 years in Japan
Yes, and therefore it is already obsolete and will end there in its current form.
Well, I think the customer will decide in the end. There are tens of millions of iPhone owners in the states, and this is no longer an insignificant number. And more will come with the watch. In the end, Walmart and others will wince when they calculate how much purchasing power they are needlessly losing. They are twitching now, but they too will adapt, they will have to in their own interest. Their system is only interesting for loyalty customers and this system will end sooner or later.
Well, not only can Apple and Google respond by blocking the upcoming CurrentC application, banks can also quite conveniently charge outgoing transactions (payments) made via CurrentC..
.. that the chains wouldn't be able to calculate it?
Well, I don't know, everything is possible in the USA ;)
Please clarify once more, CurrentC does not need a bank at all, it can do without it.
So neither Apple nor Google can block CurrentC.
"Once the iOS and Android app comes out next year, you'll pay with a QR code..."
Both Apple and Google are important to CurrentC.
"Once the iOS and Android app comes out next year, you'll pay with a QR code displayed on your device and the purchase amount will be immediately deducted from your account."
OK, if this is not intended to be a bank account, but a prepaid bonus card account, then you have to get money to this account somehow..., either through a bank (may be charged), an operator or perhaps a bet terminal :-), which compared to using mobile phone and fingerprint is very inconvenient and lengthy for clients.
And why shouldn't Apple or Google block or not offer an application for CurrentC in their stores that is supposed to scan that QR code?
So this way… “On the other hand, not a single bank has expressed support for CurrentC. This is due to the fact that the entire system is designed so that it does not depend on the middle link, that is, on banks and their fees for card payments."
It will be difficult for the bank to explain a different fee than for any other account. So I wouldn't worry about this at all.
And considering that the PayPal application works, I wouldn't be too worried about it being blocked in the AppStore.
It seems to me that now Apple needs more salesmen than Apple saleswomen.
And it's not at all that I don't support Apple against the banks, quite the opposite. But not everything in the world is simple.
The lack of support may lie in the fact that banks do not conclude special contracts with retail chains for this service. They can otherwise consist in simplifying the activation process, for example, it is not enough to sign the register at the reception in your hypercam and everything will start working, but the customer must initiate a direct debit or send money by order to the CurrnetC account. And as we already know today, any service that is even a little complicated for the customer has no chance of success (see our Mobito).
So, I would like to see how I can have my payment sent to a chain of stores or I will make sure that I have enough money there, and I will be able to shop only in that chain of stores. And they will also monitor what I buy and where, and send me advertising accordingly. And to pay, I will have to launch their application on my smartphone and scan the QR code. It couldn't be more complicated. Better cash.
From what I read of discussions on foreign websites, it looks like a boycott of that chain of stores.
The article is a little messy. Apple and Google have trumps in their hands, they can adapt apple pay to currentC cards and it's not too difficult, otherwise the Current C is implemented. And with 5 large chains, many of the mentioned brands are part of one large chain, and Wal-Mart is a daily discount store like Kaufland or Lidl. Apple can say we will adapt your cards to apple pay or we will limit you in itunes because the apps in which you pay without the apple fee are removed. Apple has the advantage that its system is functional and is able to push merchants to compromise
Apple just doesn't let CurrentC applications into iTunes and you don't have to do anything else. Customers decide for themselves how to shop
It won't be that simple. I don't know the iTunes terms and conditions, but just saying "we don't like you and that's why we won't put your app on iTunes" probably won't work.
Well, the conditions are such that anything can compete with something from Apple, so it can be removed and even the account of the developer can be canceled. If Apple doesn't want it, then cancel it without any problems.