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Apple Responds to CVS/Rite Aid Controversy: 'Overwhelmingly Positive' Response, Working to Add Merchants
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And notice how they talk only about merchants as opposed to who at the end of the day puts the food on their tables: the customers. This is why the CurrentC design is so bad. It was designed solely with merchants (giant merchants) in mind without any thought given to usability, security, or privacy. Even if CurrentC somehow takes off, it will at best be a US-only solution, as the consumer protections are too poor for it to be approved in the EU. ApplePay totally stole their thunder with a far simpler and more secure approach that didn't require invention tons of new infrastructure. CurrentC is dead.
Really? I think the name is the best thing they have going for them. The name is a stroke of genius. I know it is a rather obvious name but it has a lot going for it.
It would be nice if I didn't have to have a huge iPhone 6 or 6+ to use Apple Pay, like if it worked with a flash stick that you kept on a key ring or something
Like a watch?
Agreed. I love the part at the end of Wal-Mart's statement which mentions "merchants' deep insights":
"MCX's members believe merchants are in the best position to provide a mobile solution because of their deep insights into their customers' shopping and buying experiences."
They forgot to mention that by "deep insights", they really mean that the merchant will have your medical history, purchase history, bank account number, and social security number. That's "deep insight" alright. If the MCX merchants think we're going to stand by while they take that personal information in exchange for a half-assed mobile payment "solution", they've got another thing coming.
Ah yes, the all competition is good fallacy. MCX brings nothing new to the table and is actually trying to prevent competition in mobile payments. That is not helpful and MCX's inevitable collapse will leave the mobile payment scene better off, not worse off.
This isn't strictly true.
If you believe Thomas Friedman ("The World is Flat"), the pressure put on suppliers by Walmart purchasers has resulted in separate lines being run for Walmart vs. other sales outlets. This could mean that the Levis jeans may not have as clean sewing, or the quality control on the electronics isn't as tight.
Several higher-end brands have refused to sell through Walmart for that reason.
FWIW, Costco does the same thing, however, the effect isn't as pronounced, and they demand higher quality. In addition, items like electronics will be differentiated from otherwise identical models sold elsewhere by subtle changes in the layout of connectors or attachments. Model numbers will also change to reflect that the item is unique to Costco. On the flip side, there tends not to be the level of savings seen at Walmart (at least not in Canada). Perhaps that's why they can pay the employees slightly better.
You must be going for the troll championship there hey!
Apple has soldered ram modules in computers and you think they would ever make the battery easily removable... Delusional or what?
You are still not answering the main complaint about Google Wallet. Google keeps your credit card information on their computers and sits in the middle between you, the merchant, and the bank. Where they can data mine your purchases and the security of your information is vulnerable. They do not use the same level of security and tokenization used by Apple Pay.
I looked up standards battles a few minutes ago. Others include VHS vs Betamax and even AC vs DC current. I think in regards to NFC vs QR, NFC will prevail. At least for now.
As an iPhone 5 owner (and therefore one who cannot use ApplePay), it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Of course I'm rooting for ApplePay because it's the more secure option. I'm not going to hand over my SSN and driver's license to Walmart.
Unfortunately shopping at Walmart seems to be unavoidable for me. They're the only store in town that consistently carries the cat food and litter that I buy (if you own a cat you understand why that's important!). But at the same time I hate them because they want to come into my hometown and replace our local hardware store chain and the beer distributor while probably destroying the creek that runs along the property. Why do they feel the need to come into an already saturated suburb?!
I hope Target and some of the others will be able to get out of this and bring in NFC payments. It seems to be the future for in-store purchases. But for now I'll stick with my Visa debit card from my credit union until I can use my upgrade on Verizon.
Unfortunately shopping at Walmart seems to be unavoidable for me. They're the only store in town that consistently carries the cat food and litter that I buy (if you own a cat you understand why that's important!). But at the same time I hate them because they want to come into my hometown and replace our local hardware store chain and the beer distributor while probably destroying the creek that runs along the property. Why do they feel the need to come into an already saturated suburb?!
I hope Target and some of the others will be able to get out of this and bring in NFC payments. It seems to be the future for in-store purchases. But for now I'll stick with my Visa debit card from my credit union until I can use my upgrade on Verizon.
This level of understanding seems reminiscent of Palm's initial reaction to the rumors that Apple would be getting into the phone business:
I don't think that Walmart will go by the wayside like Palm did—it's too big and we are talking about a payment system not a piece of merchandise. But I do see CurrentC not lasting too long—about as long as CurrentTV.
It will be interesting to see what happens when ApplePay launches internationally, MCX being a US only thing, and the fact it's only in stores in the USA i wonder if the rest of world will pressure them into falling in line and accepting universal NFC payments?
This. I think you're right. NFC is clearly more secure (even in regards to Google's data mining) than CurrentC. Not to mention so much easier to use. Who wants to scan a code for someone else to scan another code? That alone seems too cumbersome. Not to mention all the red lights going off because you have to provide SS and DL numbers. I can't believe that didn't stop all these retailers dead in their tracks. I really have to question the judgement of these retailers for even thinking this was a good idea in the first place.
It makes me wonder if CurrentC will now attempt to adopt NFC before their official launch. The whole code reading thing is NOT going to happen. If they did that, they could at least attempt to sell it as internationally adoptable.
If anything, this gives Apple Pay and Google Wallet room/incentive to grow quickly. If they combine forces and move to wider international acceptance before CurrentC even launches (if it even does launch) then CurrentC will truly be DBA (dead before arrival).
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Exactly what I thought of when I read that comment too! haha.
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sense. "...this comment makes no sense".
Apple can't (or won't) ban apps unless they go against their terms of service. That is why there are active iOS apps for Google, Microsoft etc who are other competitors.
Now, what they could do, is alter the T&C's and say that a third party app with more than say 2000 reviews with a rating of 1 star will be removed from the store as it is clearly not in their customers interest to host such negative applications. That is handing power to the people, potentially dangerous for a company but also saying "you decide" to it's customers.
A lot of this boils down to a few areas:
1. The physical wallet is not going away anytime soon
2. Physical credit cards are not going away anytime soon
3. Security and privacy matter
4. Apple Pay looks pretty good so far
5. Consumers will decide what wins out
Many situations still require physical cards (drivers license, medical, credit, etc) for services. That may change over time, but is here for quite a few years more. Adoption of NFC, or any other new payment technology, will take some years. Mobile phone options are only additive at this point, not replacement.
Security and privacy are going to drive a lot of this. Recent problems at Target, Home Depot and others will push the trend away from physics credit cards and towards more secure approaches. Recent issues with privacy (NSA, smartphone data, big brother, etc) will tend to push the consumer towards products that protect their information better.
Apple Pay looks pretty good so far, being out for only a few weeks. It has a few warts, but Apple will likely smooth those over in the coming year. It seems consumer based, which is a plus to most.
The current plan for CurrentC, which is some number of months or quarters away, looks less than well focused. Credit card data, drivers license, social security number, consumer liability, corporate data sharing for advertising look less than good for most consumers before you even consider the actual phone process, which seems a bit involved at best.
The consumer will drive the end result over some number of years. Merchants will have limited control of how that goes. Their equivalent of Were from the government and are here to help you will tend to fail with consumers. Way too many of them are still smarting from recent hacks at Target, etc Consumers will choose and smart companies/merchants will follow the money.
1. The physical wallet is not going away anytime soon
2. Physical credit cards are not going away anytime soon
3. Security and privacy matter
4. Apple Pay looks pretty good so far
5. Consumers will decide what wins out
Many situations still require physical cards (drivers license, medical, credit, etc) for services. That may change over time, but is here for quite a few years more. Adoption of NFC, or any other new payment technology, will take some years. Mobile phone options are only additive at this point, not replacement.
Security and privacy are going to drive a lot of this. Recent problems at Target, Home Depot and others will push the trend away from physics credit cards and towards more secure approaches. Recent issues with privacy (NSA, smartphone data, big brother, etc) will tend to push the consumer towards products that protect their information better.
Apple Pay looks pretty good so far, being out for only a few weeks. It has a few warts, but Apple will likely smooth those over in the coming year. It seems consumer based, which is a plus to most.
The current plan for CurrentC, which is some number of months or quarters away, looks less than well focused. Credit card data, drivers license, social security number, consumer liability, corporate data sharing for advertising look less than good for most consumers before you even consider the actual phone process, which seems a bit involved at best.
The consumer will drive the end result over some number of years. Merchants will have limited control of how that goes. Their equivalent of Were from the government and are here to help you will tend to fail with consumers. Way too many of them are still smarting from recent hacks at Target, etc Consumers will choose and smart companies/merchants will follow the money.
Eh, Google didn't make HCE available until 4.4. Not sure if there was a technical reason or not, but you really should blame the phone manufacturers for allowing the carriers to dictate where the secure element was to be stored (on the SIM not in the phone itself). It wasn't until HCE that Google was able to virtualize that element, thus cutting out the carriers.
Apple just told the carriers to get stuffed the first time around (they don't always, see the stupid 50MB download restriction).
Whew, Krispy Kreme and Valero aren't on that list. I can keep shopping at those places...
So the merchants system requires a Social Security number, DL, and access to a bank account. Yeah, well, THAT'S not gonna happen. Might as well put my whole identity out on the web for all to see and access. They would NEVER convince me their security is soooo good that they won't be hacked. And I wonder just how they are insuring your identity and bank account funds if they did get hacked?
Non-starter. The American public is stupid but not THAT stupid.
Non-starter. The American public is stupid but not THAT stupid.