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

[deputy_doofy]

I take serious offence with that. The problem is (a) mad requirements from upper management what data they want collecting, and (b) the mad requirement that the NFC hardware and the standard software in each NFC terminal mustn't be used. Probably some mad requirements for hardware cost; bluetooth should have been capable of creating a less clumsy implementation.

As a developer myself, I see more guys get work because they're efficient programmers (clean code), regardless of how well the final product functions in terms of usefulness to the client. CurrentC is just another day at many offices when it comes to a programmer's final product, sadly.

 

[wovel]

Is CurrentC is requiring Merchants to block other companies payment system Apple and Google should block their app from there devices... Fair is Fair

Funny thing is these stores already have the hardware to support Google Wallet and Apple Pay right now and they are just turning their back on their customers.

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.

Given the bad press stores have received on their data breaches and the lost revenues they incurred, many retailers will be happy to not deal with the data at all. Target experienced a 46% drop in profit after their breach.

 

[goofy1958]

With CVS, Walmart, and other CurrentC members, they might pass on the savings to the consumer, but at best, since they also still accept credit cards, it would be a savings proportional to whatever (small) percentage of their customers use the technology, and it would be spread out across everyone, regardless of how they pay. Just as likely, prices will remain the same and they'll fatten their operating margins slightly.

If anyone thinks that these companies are going to pass ANY savings back to us, then they are smoking some serious stuff.

 

[Designer Dale]

Exactly. At least from the information I've seen there is ZERO benefit for the consumer. It only benefits the retailer. Also collecting health data WTF?

Health data: The pharmacy has to keep your prescriptions private, but if you pay for them with this system, then corporate and the advertising department thereof would new able to find out what generics you take for what conditions and hit you with ads for more expensive patent meds.

Full price cost of 100 doses of diabetes meds:

generic Metformin: around $75 (around $2 with good insurance)
patent Farxiga: around $300 (not covered by most insurance plans)

All they see is $$$$
All we say is $#%@&^&^^&

Dale

 

[babbit]

The biggest downside of CurrentC is fraud protection. With CurrentC, they are not liable for any fraud if someone somehow steals or uses your CurrentC account without consent. The full liability is with the consumer. That is the exact opposite of traditional credit cards and NFC payments in which the consumer is not liable for fraudulent payments. Of course this is one of the reasons why credit card processing fees are so high in order to cover fraud.

Marry poor QR transaction security measures with fraud liability on the consumer, and you have the worst of all worlds with CurrentC.

 

[tooloud10]

Not only did a large consortium of retailers step on their own foot, they're in the process of providing Apple/Google with the best advertising that money can buy. Normally Apple/Google have to dance around the fact that they're big corporations that many people loathe, but Walmart/MCX is actually making them look like "the little guy" that's getting walked on.

I doubt we'll hear any official comments from Apple/Google other than "we'd like all customers to be given the opportunity to pay via whatever method they choose", while everyone in Cupertino and Mountain View is sitting in their offices laughing their asses off.

 

[ThisIsNotMe]

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.

Retailers will be on the hook for fraudulent transactions as of next year.
They will not have a choice but to accepted services such as ApplePay or Google Wallet.

In any every, as stated, there is a rewards card component to ApplePay which allows retailers to issue loyalty cards to consumers who use ApplePay. This however is 'opt-in' as it should be. Retailers shouldn't track people based on their CC usage who have not opted into a loyalty program.

 

[yg17]

I have a petition up. I would love it if everyone could sign.

Please join the campaign:
https://www.change.org/p/cvs-bestbu...nk&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition

You do realize that online petitions are worth less than the paper they would be printed on if you printed it out, right?

 

[Mike MA]

5 years ago it would have looked cumbersome when introduced, today just ridiculous.

 

[WaxedJacket]

For lack of a better term, this is ghetto as hell!

 

[IJ Reilly]

But it's not. "Finding" implies taking time to scroll through screens or folders, "opening" is the waiting for it to open. I guess you can call that all one or everyone could make it the most accessible app to save some time, but compared to not even unlocking your phone, it's lots of seconds. They claim that it is faster than current payment methods, which is not true. Whereas Apple Pay might actually be faster than a card swipe, barely.

The hilarious part is that you have to scan QR codes twice, which the OP actually left out of the list.

Well, as I said, Apple has the better solution, but both are going to have their selling points.

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The battle is between Visa/MC/Amex (and discover*) and the merchants.

Apple (and Google Wallet) is on the side of the credit card companies. Merchants want to reduce/eliminate their fees to these merchants, hence MCX and CurrentC.

*Discover is just as much a target of the merchants, but they aren't on the Apple Pay side yet.

Apparently not all the merchants, at least not the ones who have already signed on with Apple. They may want to free themselves from bank fees, but apparently not enough to deny their customers the convenience of NFC payment methods.

 

[Tzerlag]

And, for right now, Target has a good program going to do this. If you use there store CC you get 5% off everything and they bypass the CC companies. Cheaper for you and cheaper for them.

Hmmm, maybe someday, after CurrentC tanks , target will let folks load their target card into passbook to utilize Apple pay.

Apple's 0.15% fee is better than the whole CC company fee.

 

[IJ Reilly]

No it's the merchants against the credit card companies. The merchants do not want to pay the credit card companies a transaction fee. CurrentC/MCX wants to use Automated Clearing House (ACH) to process their transactions. And the only way to use Automated Clearing House (ACH) is to give the mechant your Bank/Checking Account number, Social Security Number, and Drivers License number.

As above, not entirely. Clearly Apple's strongest allies are the credit card companies, but obviously some of the merchants are comfortable with Apple Pay or they would not have signed on. Quite possibly the banks are offering some sort of discount on their fees for the merchants who support Apple Pay. I would not be at all surprised.

 

[shanson27]

I don't know, how CurrentC actually works, so you need to scan each product individually, true ?

 

[Joesmith13245]

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.

Yep, we'll see how this all plays out over the next 6-12 months.

 

[sabihondo]

Debit Card

So it's a debit card system, not a credit card system. F that. I want my airline miles and my AMEX rebates.

 

[J. Jizzle]

I don't know, how CurrentC actually works, so you need to scan each product individually, true ?

No. The cashier rings up all items, and once they give you the total, instead of using cash or swiping a Credit/Debit card you will stupidly use the CurrentC app to scan the code & spend one minute standing there waiting for the app to scan it. I can't wait to see head to head comparisons with the speed of Apple Pay compared to CurrentC. It's going to be hilarious!

 

[StyxMaker]

With all this negative reporting, they'll have to make a last minute name change in order to get anyone to sign up. Maybe they can rename it the 'Super Secure Payment System'.

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Its not linked to your bank account. You alot a certain amount to put on your starbucks card. It goes through your CC/DC. It also doesnt take as much personal information.

I think the point was the scanning process is quick and doesn't slow things down in the payment line. Which is true, most of the time.

 

[miguel cortez]

They can't jack up the price for credit cards, but they can give a discount for cash.

Price: 9.99
Price with credit: 9.99
Price with cash: 7.99

is perfectly fine.

Price: 9.99
Price with credit: 11.99
Price with cash: 9.99

is not

Thanks!

 

[shanson27]

No. The cashier rings up all items, and once they give you the total, instead of using cash or swiping a Credit/Debit card you will stupidly use the CurrentC app to scan the code & spend one minute standing there waiting for the app to scan it. I can't wait to see head to head comparisons with the speed of Apple Pay compared to CurrentC. It's going to be hilarious!

Okay, thanks

 

[IJ Reilly]

No. The cashier rings up all items, and once they give you the total, instead of using cash or swiping a Credit/Debit card you will stupidly use the CurrentC app to scan the code & spend one minute standing there waiting for the app to scan it. I can't wait to see head to head comparisons with the speed of Apple Pay compared to CurrentC. It's going to be hilarious!

Wow, so now it takes a whole minute to scan a QR code. Who knew?

 

[StyxMaker]

Junk shopping at Walmart.

I've only been in Walmart stores a few times, when I've been with someone else who wanted to buy something there, and I've always found it to be a very unpleasant experience.

 

[Tzerlag]

Secure in terms of your transaction with the merchant? Yes. However, cash offers no security in the event that it's lost or stolen.

Plus how often am I supposed to go replenish my cash supply?

I hardly ever pay cash for anything over $20. I hit the ATM once or twice per month, withdraw a couple hundred and don't go back until that's dwindled.

Gas, food, entertainment, other stuff. No way I'm carrying 4 figures of cash throughot the month.

 

[J. Jizzle]

Wow, so now it takes a whole minute to scan a QR code. Who knew?

I was being sarcastic. It can take a while depending on how good the phone's camera is at reading the code.

 

[neteng101]

My goodness - CurrentC is an utter stupid joke... you're going to have to offering 50% off sales or something crazy like that to entice people to even consider using it.

I do believe a lot of businesses just set themselves up for failure and tons of loss sales. OMG... the stupidity of this is beyond belief!