Apple Pay Competitor CurrentC Detailed as Convoluted System With Minimal Consumer Benefit

irnchriz said:
Well, that all looks a bit of a cluster****. Who in their right mind would opt to give them their info?? Ah, on further reading I see that their App will work on Android phones, these phone users don't care about their privacy anyway :p
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Congratulations. We got 74 comments into this thread before you became the first person to make an Android-bashing comment. Feel better about yourself?

To the more informed and smarter commenters in this thread, we see that this is where Apple and Google can team up (along with their users) and kill this stupid idea. This is a money grab, pure and simple and should die like the moronic idea that it is.
 
Turning off NFC now is precisely the strategy Retailers(MCX) wanted. This is all about data and who controls it. If Apple wants Apple pay to succeed, they'll need to negotiate how consumer data will be shared and with who.

Next step: Apple sitting down with Retailers and asking "What do you want?" And "How much will it cost?"

I bet Google will get involved as well.
 
proudperson said:
"Many of you seem to have forgotten the first rule of capitalism and business. We at Apple are thinking about ourselves and to a lesser extent, the stockholders. We are doing things that we believe will increase our profit. We are not concerned about the consumer convenience. Its all about putting the most amount of money into our pockets."
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gty_steve_jobs_ll_111101_wmain.jpg
 
Quahog said:
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, :apple:Pay, or any other payment service they choose.
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This reminds me of all the things government "mandates" because you know, they're so fantastic they must be mandatory.

What it really means: Stifle competition by contractually mandating only MY payment system.

This stupid pay company probably was blind sided by apple pay so they tapped their partners on the shoulder and told them to disable NFC.
 
TomTomHatesCats said:
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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All my money got stolen in a huge data breach but at least I got these nifty coupons! Thanks CurrentC!
 
DonutHands said:
This!

Pass along the savings to the customer, raise the prices for everyone using a CC. Raise the price even more for Apple pay.

This new payment method is fantastic if you dont want to use a CC. Absolutely terrible if you do.
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2% isn't nearly enough to convince me to give up my ability to dispute transactions, nor grant a retailer (who recently gave up my credit card details) unfettered access to my bank account. I don't care about saving 50c on a $25 spend at a corner drug store, thanks.
 
roadbloc said:
Actually they probably can't. A move like this would spawn a lot of AntiTrust issues, something Apple probably doesn't want since they're giving Microsoft a run for their money with proprietary technologies. And default apps. And everything else Microsoft were sued for in the 90s because of AntiTrust.
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No it wouldn't. And even if they tried to sue, they're doing exactly the same thing! They disable NFC specifically to block Apple Pay / Google wallet payments, Apple/Google remove their app from their app stores. And Apple never forced their partners to not support CurrentC.
 
Steps

jpmd70 said:
You said:
Originally Posted by jclardy View Post
CurrentC:
1. Unlock phone
2. Find CurrentC app
3. Launch CurrentC app (same step) <- wrong
4. Hope you have adequate signal in concrete walls of the store (also required for Apple Pay) <-wrong
5. Hold phone up to scanner (also required for Apple Pay) <-wrong

Have you used :apple:Pay?
1. Hold iPhone near NFC device.
2. Put finger on Home Button.
3. Done.
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Ok you Wrong Also

1) Unlock Phone
2) Find and Launch App
3) Authenticate (No sure if you have to login if not very insecure)
4) Scan a QR Code (can take a lot of time)
5) Scan a bar code on your phone...

Really, That is less steps than Apple Pay
 
Yikes!

This sounds like a terrible idea. would anybody trust such sensitive info to these merchants consortium led by Walmart -and the likes ?? I don't think so Walmart.com is one of the most antiquated and worst sites to put any kind of personal info , I got hacked and their answer to delete my account was that they can't delete any account they stay on their servers for ever and ever , yikes !!!!:eek:
 
Joesmith13245 said:
Turning off NFC now is precisely the strategy Retailers(MCX) wanted. This is all about data and who controls it. If Apple wants Apple pay to succeed, they'll need to negotiate how consumer data will be shared and with who.

Next step: Apple sitting down with Retailers and asking "What do you want?" And "How much will it cost?"

I bet Google will get involved as well.
Click to expand...

The entire point of ApplePay is that neither the retailer OR Apple is able to collect that information unless the users provides a loyalty card.

Google and retailers on the other hand collects all transactional data.

Apple has nothing to negotiate and/or sell to retailers.
If the consumer wants to be tracked by a retailer they must opt-in via a loyalty card.
Fantastic solution on Apples part as it gives the consumer control of their private information.
 
Rogifan said:
Do you have examples of this happening? The only instance of Touch ID being spoofed that I've heard of was in a highly controlled environment where they had all the right tools and were able to lift a perfectly clean fingerprint.
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And that was gen 1.0. We're at 2.0...
 
yg17 said:
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.
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It doesn't matter what mode the phone is in. The transaction takes place within the terminal.
 
Larry-Bloom said:
Ok you Wrong Also

1) Unlock Phone
2) Find and Launch App
3) Authenticate (No sure if you have to login if not very insecure)
4) Scan a QR Code (can take a lot of time)
5) Scan a bar code on your phone...

Really, That is less steps than Apple Pay
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"Really, That is less steps than Apple Pay"

I don't understand what you are talking about?
 
ThisIsNotMe said:
The entire point of ApplePay is that neither the retailer OR Apple is able to collect that information unless the users provides a loyalty card.

Google and retailers on the other hand collects all transactional data.

Apple has nothing to negotiate and/or sell to retailers.
If the consumer wants to be tracked by a retailer they must opt-in via a loyalty card.
Fantastic solution on Apples part as it gives the consumer control of their private information.
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Sounds like Apple is going to have to change their strategy. Now that retailers have both Google and Apple committed to NFC, that strategy may need to include some transfer of consumer data.
 
dec. said:
So they are doing this only to save transaction fees?
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And to be able to get more information about their customers so they can target them with advertising, most likely.

I'm sure these merchants pay a boatload of money to credit card processors. I know I do and I'm just a small company. However, as I've said for as long as I've owned a small business, you almost always have to spend money in order to make money.

If I didn't accept credit cards, I know I'd lose out on business because my customers want to be able to pay with credit cards. Does it cost me money every time I take a credit card? Yep; but I'd rather make the sale and have to give a cut of it to the processor as opposed to not making the sale at all.

I'm surprised these giant corporations signed contracts with this MCX consortium that apparently limits their ability to accept certain forms of payment. Probably what happened is that the contracts were signed a year or two ago when no one saw Apple Pay coming. All they knew is they had these NFC terminals in their U.S. stores that probably accounted for less than 1% of their revenue.

The corporations probably thought the CurrentC system was going to be revolutionary because using CurrentC, any mobile phone (including iPhones) would be able to make a payment -- not just NFC-enabled phones. The icing on the cake was that they wouldn't have to pay credit card processor fees. They thought it was going to be a win-win and then Apple Pay happened and it is likely going to totally change the mobile payments landscape over the next several years.

Sounds a lot like what happened with the first iPhone. No one saw it coming and then over time, it has changed the way people thought about smartphones.
 
Consumers may also balk at a system that requires the cloud storage of sensitive information and a cumbersome checkout process that relies on QR codes accessed through a separate app and tied to direct bank withdrawals.
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May balk? I have utterly balked at this. I will not participate.

Here's another thought. Checkout clerks are going to struggle with CurrentC right along with customers during the process. Overall should expect delays moving through the checkout lines, with frustrated customers and frazzled clerks souring the experience of shopping there. Add this to the reasons why those merchants are going to lose loyalty and customers.
 
Larry-Bloom said:
Ok you Wrong Also

1) Unlock Phone
2) Find and Launch App
3) Authenticate (No sure if you have to login if not very insecure)
4) Scan a QR Code (can take a lot of time)
5) Scan a bar code on your phone...

Really, That is less steps than Apple Pay
Click to expand...

Er, how that that less steps than putting your finger on the scanner and holding it to the NFC terminal? #MathFail
 
The only way this method can succeed would be if the user doesn't understand the implications of using it. Wow...
 
Joesmith13245 said:
Sounds like Apple is going to have to change their strategy. Now that retailers have both Google and Apple committed to NFC, that strategy may need to include some transfer of consumer data.
Click to expand...
Or the credit card processors could change their strategy, and charge fees based on how secure the transaction is, with NFC / contactless costing retailers less. Credit card processors don't like CurrentC at all.
 
tekchic said:
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.
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WHile I agree the SS and Bank Account info will stop a lot from using it. The steps to use will be a big distraction from the process. People Like easy...

Remember the Mobile Gas "Speedpay" people used it because it was easy. It had a very wide adoption and it got them a lot of business
 
Patriot24 said:
This would be like Goodyear telling consumers to embrace automobiles.

Good for Verifone for making the statement, but they are essentially a partner at this point for Apple and Google. NFC technology is going to lead to a lot of Verifone terminals in stores. They're looking to ride the wave.
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I wonder if Verifone can make it impossible to disable NFC.
 
sailmac said:
Here's another thought. Checkout clerks are going to struggle with CurrentC right along with customers during the process. Overall should expect delays moving through the checkout lines, with frustrated customers and frazzled clerks souring the experience of shopping there. Add this to the reasons why those merchants are going to lose loyalty and customers.
Click to expand...

I doubt enough people will use it to create problems with delays in lines.
 
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