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Long ago I said CurrentC would be DOA; after all given the alternatives of plastic and NFC, who would want to use a fiddley QR based system that gives a Walmart backed consortium access to your bank accounts with none of the protections or rewards offered by the CC companies.

I may have been wrong.

It looks increasingly likely that it will be stillborn.

If it's going to be anything like Target's "Debit" card I'll pass. The card can't see your available balance, and they take 3 days to ACH the money out with no post to your bank. If something goes wrong, they charge "bounced check" fees.... For an ELECTRONIC service. All the trouble of a checkbook with no built-in protections of Credit cards. It's utterly useless for "impulse" transactions if I have to wait 3+ days for the accounting to catch up. In contrast my Walmart prepaid debit card reconciles transactions in minutes so you're never going to "overdraw" it which is perfect for "penny" transactions like lunches and snacks.
 
I find it funny that their exclusivity agreements end before they even have the program up and running.
 
You're kidding, right? Having to pull out your credit card, instead of waving your phone, keeps you from shopping at particular store? SMH

It's not just that. It's not having to carry a credit card to begin with. It's too early in the game for that, but the promise is there with wider adoption.

It's also this, most important of advantages: Security. I don't have to worry about my credit card information falling into the hands on unscrupulous employees, or getting caught up in a hack of the merchant's computers.

As far as Apple Pay is concerned, what would really be nice is if they were to integrated into their partner merchants/banks enough to offer me e-receipt services, with receipts sent directly to my email address. I would love to never have to keep up with a paper receipt again.
 
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CurrentC really is a dead duck. Someone somewhere is pouring shed loads of cash into developing it and I am positive it's going to fail, that's if it even takes off at all. With how simple Apple Pay is I'm sure no iPhone user would choose it over Apple Pay, and once Android Pay gets going that too dare I say it will be simpler for Android users than the CurrentC system so that about stitches the market up.

I say give up now and cut your losses.

Maybe the half dozen or so BlackBerry users that are left will need something. Good for them.
 
So you would rather trust your purchase data and profile to a company like Walmart or Google? Really?

You DO understand that YOU are the product when dealing with CurrentC, right?

What?? I'm talking about the eventual loss of a cash society, not who's corporation does a better job at pulling money out of a bank account.
 
You gotta give the MCX consortium credit for trying, and keeping a brave face, but they have an uphill battle ahead.

There is the fact the banks and CC companies obviously don't want to share any transaction fees with Apple, plus they don't like the fact Apple isn't mining any customer data for them, so they're naturally going to try to come up with their own more favorable (to them) system. In order to win consumers over however, they would have to convince us CurrentC is as secure as the security features built-in to :apple:Pay.

But there's also the reality of more disposable income in the iOS camp.

I see a bleak future for them and ain't betting on their success. As ApplePay continues to roll out to more and more locations, expect to see a lot more defections from the MCX side.

Actually the banks and credit card companies are lining up to sign up for Apple pay. The reason is that Apple pay transactions are exponentially more secure than traditional debit or credit card transactions. While they give up a tiny fraction of a percent in charges to Apple, in the long run the savings in fraud and unauthorized charges will more than offset the payments to Apple.
 
Apple Pay is the superior payment system. Super easy and safe for consumers and it reduces risk for banks, which is why they are jumping on board.

Leave it to Apple to walk into an industry and do something right on the first try that other companies have been struggling with.
 
You are wrong about MR....... its THREE Articles in a row NOT about :apple:watch....

Gasp!

:eek:

I stand corrected!

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My guess is that the "next Phase" will be very interesting for CurrentC. If they actually roll it out as advertised, it will quickly fail and that will be that. However, maybe they are intending to make a change in approach and is the reason it has not rolled out.

It works for folks like starbuks only becasue it is tied to a heavy rewards program. If they do the same with CurrentC, then it may succeed only because user will hold their nose and use this thing in order to get a particular reward that will not be offered if they use any other form of payment.

The only other option is that CurrentC develop the ability to accept NFC (but probably only tied to a debit card).

These are the only two scenerios where I see them having a chance.
I agree with the premise, but the timing is the problem... They have to be absolutely sure that this works 99.999% of the time, and that .001% (these are made up numbers, folks, but they're there to make a point... it's probably a higher percentage) had better be an outlier to the process, not a bug. People generally frown when their money is messed around with.

The worry with shifting gears is all of the testing that has gone into the current methodology, and for them to shift direction would cause delays and introduce risk. The biggest risk is delaying into irrelevancy, and this may be the tipping point to that direction.

There are a lot of old men at the bar telling stories about how "they were first" with a great idea, as the tumbleweeds pass by.
 
...And then we have CVS still refusing to offer Apple Pay even though they have the technology, instead they'd rather use QR codes, ha gtfo

Walgreen's accepts Apple Pay and their prices are so much better than CVS. Luckily, there are new Walgreens near us, so I never go to CV$...
 
it may succeed only because user will hold their nose and use this thing in order to get a particular reward that will not be offered if they use any other form of payment.

Interesting thing about that. I read an article last weekend, don't exactly remember where, probably CBC, about reward cards. The article focussed on the Air Miles cards that some are using here in Canada, but they expanded it to cover all of the store rewards cards as well. It said that fewer people are using reward cards. Participation rates have dropped significantly in the last couple of years. The rewards have gotten stingier which hasn't helped. But the biggest factor is people are getting sick of being tracked. The privacy and security of them has become a concern and people are skipping the "save 1000 points and get a free dozen eggs" schtick so Big Brother won't follow them. They just want to get their stuff and go. They don't want to get the e-mail the next day saying "We see that you just bought condoms...you may be interested in... a discount on diapers."
 
There are many people out there who do not buy Apple, but the cheapest Walmart prepaid smartphone. Those people don't have  pay. Wouldn't you think that CurrentC is for THOSE people?

 pay is great, but not everyone has access to it; AND MCX knows there are less aware people in America who don't care about "security".
 
So, my cash tip is effectively larger than if I use a credit card. Never thought of it that way...

Only if you assume your waiter to be a tax cheat, and thus you are helping enable his illegal behavior. :eek:

That said, it is disgusting to me that any server be required to pay tax on their tips. It was after all a gift from patron to server, it was not a guaranteed wage.
 
Just to put a different slant on :apple:Pay:...in addition to creating a more secure credit card transaction, :apple:Pay makes it easier to make a transaction - even more so if you have an :apple:Watch.

You have to remember that credit card companies could make transactions more secure. They could even use two-factor authentication, as Master Card tried in Singapore (http://www.techhive.com/article/2013727/mastercard-shows-display-cards-with-lcd-screen-and-pin.html). That would practically kill off bogus transactions.

So why are credit card companies so slow to implement additional security on transactions? Simple. They don't want to add any friction between the consumer and the merchant to complete a transaction. :apple:Pay makes the transaction really simple and secure! From that perspective, it's a win-win for everyone.
 
I find it funny that their exclusivity agreements end before they even have the program up and running.

Sure, but it is also so sad, and so how the corporate world often works. We have a great system that people would benefit from, but rather than compete to make a better system, they try and use their political and commercial power to freeze out a superior technology in favor of a significantly inferior system that isn't even released yet.
 
Only if you assume your waiter to be a tax cheat, and thus you are helping enable his illegal behavior. :eek:

That said, it is disgusting to me that any server be required to pay tax on their tips. It was after all a gift from patron to server, it was not a guaranteed wage.

In agreement with your first comment. On the second though, what I find disgusting is that it is legal for servers to be paid UNDER minimum wage at Sonic, IHOP, etc in expectation their tips make up for the shortfall. In essence subsidizing the company. THAT is the abuse that should be broken more than the tax code.
 
...And then we have CVS still refusing to offer Apple Pay even though they have the technology, instead they'd rather use QR codes, ha gtfo

I don't get CVS.

I travel all over America on a regular basis. I've seen plenty of CVS and plenty of Walgreens.

In almost every case Walgreens is a pleasant experience, with a few exceptions. The stores are almost always better lit, cleaner looking, their displayer are nicer, they greet you as you walk in. They try and ensure the lines are never too long. And now they have Apple Pay.

Conversely CVS always seems darker and less well lit, dark old fashioned looking floors, less attractive merchandising, more confusing check out area, no where near the nice vibe of a Walgreens.

At this point I only use a CVS if a Walgreens is unavailable.

The contrast reminds me of Circuit City versus Best Buy. The latter always looked cleaner, more modern, more inviting, and these days more in business.

When you have two businesses doing the same thing, competing for the same customers in the same market, it really surprises me that CVS can keep up. This short sighted and belligerent move to block Apple Pay for no reason, even when they have the technology to accept it, just shows their stubborn backwards thinking.
 
While inferior to Apple Pay, I don't think Current C would be useless. I pretty regularly use Passbook to pay for my coffee whenever I go to Starbucks. That works fine. Not as well as Apple Pay. And I have to load my Starbucks card (i.e., give Starbucks an interest free loan). But the experience is seamless. I've also used Leve lUp and that works pretty good as well.
Again, all inferior to Apple Pay. But not bad stuff. They are improvements over credit cards in my opinion.
 
In agreement with your first comment. On the second though, what I find disgusting is that it is legal for servers to be paid UNDER minimum wage at Sonic, IHOP, etc in expectation their tips make up for the shortfall. In essence subsidizing the company. THAT is the abuse that should be broken more than the tax code.

Yeah, there are still parts of the country that pay servers $2 an hour. They are expected to make up the rest in tips, which are taxable. Often they are expected to stay on before or after their shift to do prep work, even though there is no possibility of earning a tip for that work.

Of course, no sick pay, no maternity or paternity pay, no vacation time and so on.

Then you have Walmart exploiting the law to label their staff part time and teaching them how to apply for food stamps and other welfare programs so that we the tax payer end up subsidizing their exploited employees while they make billions. All the while they demand local and national tax breaks for being job creators.

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While inferior to Apple Pay, I don't think Current C would be useless. I pretty regularly use Passbook to pay for my coffee whenever I go to Starbucks. That works fine. Not as well as Apple Pay. And I have to load my Starbucks card (i.e., give Starbucks an interest free loan). But the experience is seamless. I've also used Leve lUp and that works pretty good as well.
Again, all inferior to Apple Pay. But not bad stuff. They are improvements over credit cards in my opinion.

Did you read up on how much personal information ObsoleteC want you to give them to sign up?
 
Personally, I don't understand the cheering on of Apple Pay. This is just an effective way of eliminating a cash exchange and guaranteeing traceable and taxable exchanges. ...but it's sure cool using my phone to pay for a hamburger, right?!

It's even cooler to pay for that hamburger with a :apple:Watch.

I dont think :apple:pay replaces cash... it's aim is to replace credit cards. Some people, such as myself, use credit cards for nearly all purchases anyway. Those that carry and use cash for most transactions will continue to do so. And even if you are a user of cash, you probably take out the credit (or debit) card when it's time to put tires on your car or buy a plane ticket.

The government is going to get their share by way of tax regardless of how you pay.
 
You're kidding, right? Having to pull out your credit card, instead of waving your phone, keeps you from shopping at particular store? SMH

Maybe you didn't understand. I don't shop at BB often. But if AP was accepted, I just might shop MORE than once a year.

Some people don't like carrying a wad of store credit cards. I carry my Amex and Visa and that's it.

I use the BB card bc of the nice 0% interest-free promo periods when buying washer, dryer, fridge, etc.
 
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