It doesn't balance the negatives at all, but I thought I read there'd be loyalty rewards/coupons to go along with it.
Anyway, horrible idea, horrible process.
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Apple Pay Competitor CurrentC Detailed as Convoluted System With Minimal Consumer Benefit
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It doesn't balance the negatives at all, but I thought I read there'd be loyalty rewards/coupons to go along with it.
Anyway, horrible idea, horrible process.
The QR code transaction is not the issue. The issue is that CurrentC wants your bank account, social security number, and driver's license. QR code is still more cumbersome than ApplePay, but that's not the issue at hand.
The issue is privacy and customer protection.
I agree with you that they should just let the consumers to vote, but it's too early to say QR code is inferior either...just because it's against apple.
If it's so great, why disable NFC? Let it stand on it's own. If people like it, they will use it. If not, they will use Google Wallet,Pay, or any other payment service they choose.
QR code transaction in China and the current implementation of CurrentC are totally different. Alibaba uses QR codes to allow you to purchase the items. For CurrentC, in addition to that, they are also using QR code to actually transmit payment info. QR codes by themselves have 0 security measures, so you have to rely on backed security. In CurrentC's case, their backend security is even less secure than traditional cards.
Alibaba's QR code system is much superior because the payment system is using their own Alipay and not QR codes.
Normally I wouldn't comment on something like this, as I'm only going to say what's been said 1000 times already. But...
How on earth would any company expect this to take off? There is absolutely no customer incentive to use this. Mobile wallets are still having a tough time gaining traction here in the US, and if consumers are struggling to adopt something as quick and easy as NFC payments, how the hell is this going to seem like an attractive alternative?
Even if you assume that all your sensitive info wasn't stored on a "cloud" somewhere and it was perfectly secure.. The entire QR code processes on a third party app is just so... Lame, for lack of a better term. Who is it targeted for? Not the tech-savvy crowd, who clearly prefer the convenience of NFC. It's definitely not for the "average" crowd, because if someone doesn't like waving their phone in front of a scanner to pay, they sure as hell aren't going to like snapping a QR code and then having the cashier scan that. It's an extra step, it's confusing, and it's already outdated before it's even released
I never like saying a piece of technology is DOA, especially when it's backed by such large corporations. But wow... CurrentC is a lousy attempt for merchants to bypass CC fees.
How on earth would any company expect this to take off? There is absolutely no customer incentive to use this. Mobile wallets are still having a tough time gaining traction here in the US, and if consumers are struggling to adopt something as quick and easy as NFC payments, how the hell is this going to seem like an attractive alternative?
Even if you assume that all your sensitive info wasn't stored on a "cloud" somewhere and it was perfectly secure.. The entire QR code processes on a third party app is just so... Lame, for lack of a better term. Who is it targeted for? Not the tech-savvy crowd, who clearly prefer the convenience of NFC. It's definitely not for the "average" crowd, because if someone doesn't like waving their phone in front of a scanner to pay, they sure as hell aren't going to like snapping a QR code and then having the cashier scan that. It's an extra step, it's confusing, and it's already outdated before it's even released
I never like saying a piece of technology is DOA, especially when it's backed by such large corporations. But wow... CurrentC is a lousy attempt for merchants to bypass CC fees.
If it's so great, why disable NFC? Let it stand on it's own. If people like it, they will use it. If not, they will use Google Wallet,
It's probably because of the agreement they have with the developer of "CurrentC"
Cash actually costs them more than credit cards.... merchants actually don't like cash. Thats way they laugh if you ask for a discount if you pay with cash.
It all has to be counted in store at least 5 or 6 times before it makes it in the Brink's bag... and that Brinks truck does not show up for free either.
It is probably better legally wise for Apple/Android to leave it on the stores. In a few hours the 1 star ratings have doubled.
You simply can not annoy the majority of the worlds mobile users and then ask them to install your own app as a solution to a problem they created in the first place. A problem then can undo instead.
In fact if they want to make any headway from this point forwards with their own proprietary system they need to use it alongside NFC and give the customer the choice.
There's a big difference. Credit card companies are under strict privacy laws and can be fined and sued if they misuse your info or loses it, etc...
Non banking companies like Stores (such as MCX members) and even companies like Paypal, etc... are not considered banks, so they are not under any restriction (other than general privacy laws and consumer backlash) to protect the info. They are free to use the info for targeted ads. For credit cards, (in case you didn't know), if you tell them to stop sending you targeted offers, they are obliged to stop. If you do the same to Best Buy, CVS, etc...they are not legally bound to do so. They only do it to not get negative reviews and complaints.
QR code goes hand in hand with privacy concerns too. The QR codes are considered to be very easily embedded with malware.
I just made a purchase with ApplePay in flight mode - so whoever claimed earlier that ApplePay required a data connection just like CurrentC, well, myth busted.
I think that any mobile payment system that is more cumbersome than swiping a credit card will fail.
I wonder if the companies are scrambling right now to figure out how to get out from under that agreement. I bet at least a few are.
Credit card companies and banks already have that information now, and have way more security than retailers.
Yes, banks can get breached (JP Morgan recently), but no identity theft type of personal information was obtained. With Target and Home Depot hackers got your: name, address, credit card number, expiration date, CCV code and PIN.
If someone hacks the card companies good luck. The retailers are the weak point. Their job is selling stuff, not financial transactions. So pick your poison -- who do you want to have your personal information. Walmart or your bank (or credit card company).
Even 1% is huge when you're talking about corporations like Wal-Mart who have an annual revenue over $400,000,000,000.
Companies breach contracts all the time. Let MCX sue them. They'll settle out of court.
So, you want me to give you completely identifying information. Then you want to add this information to a gold mine of identity theft data from consumers across the country. Then you want to post this identity thieve's wet dream on a publicly accessible cloud server. Then you want me to take my phone out of my pocket all the way, activate it, find your store's app somewhere in a folder of "Stupid Store Payment Apps" on the third springboard screen, open said app and wait for it to register, aim my phone's camera at a frickin' QR code so I can pretend I'm still in 2005, wait for your server to charge my bank, then hand my phone to your fumble-handed cashier so they can scan another QR code with their UPC-scanning wand and pretend they are in 2005 as well, then close the app, put my phone away again, and grab my bags.
And for all that you'll give me a coupon for $0.50 off a roll of Charmin?
Come on, CVS. You aren't a destination store. You are where I get stuff when I'm on the road and need something and, oh look, there's a CVS that might have it for twice as much as anywhere else but I need it now so there you go. I don't want a long-term relationship with you or the AA batteries I bought there three years ago.
I'm just not that into you. Maybe we can still be friends, but not if you keep cock-blocking my attempts to use the form of payment I want to use. Instead, I'll cross CVS off my mental list of stores that maybe carry stuff I want for much more than I want to pay but where I can get that stuff if I need it in a pinch. If enough people feel the same way someday we'll notice those CVS stores that would tend to be there when we need them replaced by Walgreens stores in the exact same locations, selling the exact same stuff at the exact same inflated prices. But the Walgreens will be willing to take my money without trying to date-rape me.
And for all that you'll give me a coupon for $0.50 off a roll of Charmin?
Come on, CVS. You aren't a destination store. You are where I get stuff when I'm on the road and need something and, oh look, there's a CVS that might have it for twice as much as anywhere else but I need it now so there you go. I don't want a long-term relationship with you or the AA batteries I bought there three years ago.
I'm just not that into you. Maybe we can still be friends, but not if you keep cock-blocking my attempts to use the form of payment I want to use. Instead, I'll cross CVS off my mental list of stores that maybe carry stuff I want for much more than I want to pay but where I can get that stuff if I need it in a pinch. If enough people feel the same way someday we'll notice those CVS stores that would tend to be there when we need them replaced by Walgreens stores in the exact same locations, selling the exact same stuff at the exact same inflated prices. But the Walgreens will be willing to take my money without trying to date-rape me.
In practice (and I say this having actually tried it), since you're probably going to be holding the phone with your thumb resting on the fingerprint reader anyway, it's a lot more like:
1. Hold phone to reader
2. There is no step 2
CVS had lost me as a customer to Walgreens when they arbitrarily disabled Apple Pay in favor of a not-yet-extant system I didn't want to use. Now that I've read what CurrentC actually involves, and how invasive it is (direct bank account access? really?), not only would I not use it, but I would seriously consider actively boycotting any retailer that's pushing it. And that would be even if I was paying with cash and didn't own a smartphone--just for the sheer hubris of their creating and implementing such a consumer- and security-hostile system for their own benefit.
If you think getting your credit card number skimmed by Target's shoddy PoS security and having to get issued a new card is bad, imagine having the next breech open up your bank account, social security number, whatever health data they're collecting, and, heck, your entire purchase history. Hell, the breech doesn't even have to be at your retailer--CurrentC just needs to screw up the chain somewhere along the line and everybody gets hit.
Maybe they'll actually secure it properly, but these retail giants have not, to date, demonstrated any ability to do so, so I'll believe it when I see it.
I totally agree. Asking for my information and then storing it in their cloud sounds like a huge issue. Plus, there is no way I want anyone dipping directly into my bank account. This is why i don't use Paypal either. Credit Cards have liability protections and bank accounts do not. This is a bad solution and I will not support it with this implementation. Square, I liked because it used my CC (which I believe they store in the cloud, but at least i am protected) and becasue I did not need to take the phone out. But I think Apple Pay is ultimately a more secure approach, even if I need to take it out of my pocket.
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The people who came up with this have golden parachutes the sizes of the states they're from.