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MCX Says Merchants Doing What's Best for Customers, Being Attacked for 'Challenging the Status Quo'

In Utah, here are the places I visit that already have NFC

School vending machine
Train
Bus
Jamba Juice
McDonald's
Subway
einstein bagels

Those are just the places I've visited since Apple Pay came out. I'm sure there are many, many more places I like that have nfc, but I didn't notice until now.

Only place I've visited frequently that doesn't are concessions at Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake, and Utah Utes games.
 
Oracle1729 said:
So you only ever use ATMs to get money for tipping and exchanging with individuals? :confused:
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That was actually a mistake when I said ATM. I don't use ATMs - I meant to say that I use cash in vending machines. All the cash I have came from me covering others with my card, and then them paying me back with cash. And tipping with cash isn't normal for me - I normally put it on my card. I tip cash when there's no transaction involved, IE, if I get a free tow via insurance, then I tip the tow driver with cash.
 
tech3475 said:
Well, I have one of these fancy wallets which has room for cash and I normally keep my wallet in a separate pocket anyway (why don't you just get a phone case which can hold the cards?).

I think it depends on circumstances but for example of the top of my head, ordering a take away delivery over the phone, since you have to read out the number/details (which could also be a security concern) compared to just giving them £20 (if they accept card at all).

In some cases I also have no choice e.g
1) Taxis (at least where I live).
2) The bus- there's no oyster style system for the ticket I want (the latter I do use when in London).
3) Any shop without a card reader.

Even if everywhere accepted card, I would still make sure to have some cash in case something goes wrong (as has happened).
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I don't use phone cases at all.

Your other points are valid though, its just i've haven't got taxis or the buss for about 15 years so.

As for shops, I probably only find one a year that don't accept card, most of the time they lose my business if I really really need to pay i'll begrudgingly go and get some cash out of a local machine, as I say, general only happens once a year and I hate it because then I ended up change in my pocket.

The sooner we move to a cashless society the better though - unless you're a drug dealer or something in which case it'd be a nightmare haha.
 
budselectjr said:
I thought they were anti credit card and wanted to take down the man?
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Its the Microsoft Strategy (Something that quit working for Microsoft years ago.)

Embrace the credit cards, Extend the service/value of CurrentC, then once an overwhelming number of people pay with it, they will strong arm the credit card companies or extinguish them from the service and their stores.

They rely on not having people latch to Google Wallet or Apple Pay so CurrentC reaches the critical level. Expect HUGE incentives for consumers to use CurrentC. The incentives will go away too once its the standard.

If these retailers got together and entered a contract to not accept any credit cards today, consumers would be outraged. But if they give consumers something they get in the habit of using, then one day turn off credit cards in store, there won't be as many vocal consumers.
 
This company or whatever is already setup for fail. So much negative publicity and the fact that CVS and RiteAid not wanting to accept ApplePay or Google is making matters worse.

Apple will integrate loyalty cards with iOS 9 I'm sure to be more competitive.

Sorry but the only "big" players will be Apple, Google, and somewhere lingering behind, MSFT 3-5 yrs later.
 
Status quo?

We're attacking you because you're introducing a substandard payment structure aimed at collecting ALL our personal data all the while blatantly standing in the way of progress by blocking Apple pay and Google wallet!

If they didn't actively have their partners disable existing NFC terminals nobody would give crap, but they did.
 
MacRumors said:
Update October 30 7:26 AM: Following continued unclear answers and dodging from MCX executives, an MCX spokesperson has confirmed to Business Insider has confirmed that consortium members who choose to accept Apple Pay must indeed leave the CurrentC group. During yesterday's conference call, the executives refused to share whether any retailers have left the group or are considering doing so.

Article Link: MCX Says Merchants Doing What's Best for Customers, Being Attacked for 'Challenging the Status Quo'
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Another day, another misstep by MCX. So now, after throwing CVS and Rite Aid under the bus yesterday, MCX has decided to come clean this morning and admit that no merchant that is a part of the MCX can accept Apple Pay? They should've just said that yesterday.

It seems like it would be easier to nail Jello to the wall than it would be to get honest, consistent answers from the people who run MCX. Hopefully, the consortium of merchants will open their eyes and run away from MCX. If they're making bad missteps like this in public, there's no telling what's going on over there behind closed doors -- but I bet it's not pretty.
 
MCX Says Merchants Doing What's Best for Customers, Being Attacked for 'Chall...

avanpelt said:
Meijer is accepting Apple Pay? Good to know. I'll be happy to give them additional business.
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They are listed as an official ApplePay partner on Apple's website.

http://www.apple.com/apple-pay/

Also found this via Twitter yesterday.

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2014/10/why_meijer_isnt_ditching_apple.html

Wish I could support Meijer...no stores in Minnesota.
 
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flat five said:
but i will add this.. this whole argument about MCX vs :apple:pay is pretty meaningless.. applepay will definitely succeed.. j.p.morgan strongly backs it and believe it or not, what they say-> goes.
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I'm sure Apple Pay will be a success. I'm just not ready to say that it's going to as big a windfall as you think it is. It is currently a feature that works at a fraction of retailers and is available on a subset of phones from a single manufacturer supporting banks from a single country. What takes a bigger logical leap, my conclusion that Apple Pay could eventually be a healthy, but not primary, source of revenue for Apple, or your idea that it's going to fuel all payments from here to Timbuktu, leaving competitors battered and broken in its wake?

Banks could probably give two deuces about how they get their money, be it Apple Pay or traditional plastic. But Apple Pay is new and people are curious about support, so it makes sense to splash it on the homepage while it's fresh.

The debate is not just MCX vs Apple Pay, and it is meaningful because so long as members are locked in, several large chains are blocked from accepting NFC payments, which as has been explained several times in this and other threads is bigger than just Apple Pay. Apple Pay will likely succeed in spite of their efforts, but that doesn't make their practices any more palatable for me as a consumer.

flat five said:
i think you kinda missed my point and/or the tone(?) i was saying it from.
it's not worth re-saying/explaining though.
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If I may offer an observation, it seems a lot of people "misunderstand" you. There is a common link in all of those interactions, so that's where I would search for the solution to this recurring issue.
 
Action is louder than words

Stop shopping at RiteAide, CVS, Walmart, etc!

Whatever CurrentC is doing, all the NFC users should just stick together and stop shopping at those merchants who think they are making a choice for consumers.

Let's be honest, it's a business. It's all about profit margin at the end of the day. Who are you really taking care of, CurrentC?

Maybe VeriFone should block CurrentC merchants?
 
They have a no leg to stand on. Their system obviously works fine alongside regular NFC, Google wallet, and ApplePay. There is no technical reason to disable the alternatives.
 
Corporate strongarm rackets do not benefit the customer.

More proof that corporations SAY they want less restrictions but impose it themselves to eliminate competition.
 
I haven't read all 17 pages here, but here's the meat of what you need to know.

MCX is all about retailers like WalMart (who pretty much is MCX) to ditch the 2-3% transaction fees when customers use credit cards. CVS and Rite Aid pulling Apple Pay and NFC from stores is their shout out to us that they would rather take the chance of saving 2-3% per transaction over losing you as a customer. Is Davidson throwing CVS and Rite Aid under the bus? Kind of, but both stores, naive as they may be, want that 2-3% cash back in their pockets.

Apple of course gets a 0.0015% cut of each Apple Pay transaction as well, but at least they make the customer experience more secure and efficient. I'm no Apple fanboy, but the answer is clear to me on which payment method to use.
 
What craziness

One day, they say there is no fine, the next they say that there is an exclusivity agreement that they will be dropped from Current C. Most likely they will also loose the money invested. What BS

They were taking Google wallet, but must not have been afraid. As soon as Apple comes out with something that is pretty easy to use (I am using it almost every day) they start shaking and turning off the NFC. Lets have the fight in the real world, let all forms of payment stay.

Lets relive the Blue-Ray - HD DVD wars. That only lasted for about 2 years. My bet is that this will last a whole lot less.
 
Count Blah said:
Anyone remeber CueCat? A USB barcode scanner where the companies expected you to take magazines and newspapers to your computer, so you can scan them and receive even more ads, as these were printed in ads.

Same level of stupidity, but now with your bank account at stake.

Lol
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Hey!, I have a CueCat. Useful little bugger - esp. when it wasn't used for it's intended purpose.
 
Doesn't MCX / CurrentC work independently of NFC? So all that is needed is internet on the phone working, camera working, and a customer with no fear that their PII is stored with a company (MCX) that has proven to leak some PII.
 
Sigspd said:
One day, they say there is no fine, the next they say that there is an exclusivity agreement that they will be dropped from Current C. Most likely they will also loose the money invested. What BS

They were taking Google wallet, but must not have been afraid. As soon as Apple comes out with something that is pretty easy to use (I am using it almost every day) they start shaking and turning off the NFC. Lets have the fight in the real world, let all forms of payment stay.

Lets relive the Blue-Ray - HD DVD wars. That only lasted for about 2 years. My bet is that this will last a whole lot less.
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Right. The original statement was very misleading. Essentially the fine for accepting Apple Pay/Google Wallet is the loss of the company's $500k membership fee and the inability to accept CurrentC payments in the future if they ever wanted to.
 
kdarling said:
Advertisements are hard to avoid unless you're willing to pay (extra) for everything.

For example, do you contribute to this forum, or do you use it for free in return for seeing ads?
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It's called AdBlock. And no, I won't apologize for using it.
 
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