Wells Fargo Enticing Users to Try Apple Pay With $10-$20 Credits

[Quahog]

You're kidding right? Credit cards cost 2-3% of a transaction value while CurrentC ACH is close to $0. Plus Apple pay may be even higher with Apple's cut included. A retailer would be stupid not to push CurrentC. Now if Apple and the credit card providers were willing to lower their processing fees down to ACH levels more retailers would probably considered it.

By the way, why can't windows users watch Apple events live on their PCs? Do Apple stores accept Google Wallet or Paypal?

Sigh... another person that has no clue what they are talking about.... do a little research before posting.

Apple does not charge the retailer anything. Not one penny. The bank does pay Apple 0.15%... which they are glad to do because it decreases their fraud exposure and having to reissue 50 million credit cards every other month.

Of course ACH is cheaper than credit card transactions... its great for the retailers. I don't think anyone would argue that fact. But consumers would have to buy into the fact that they have to give up their social security number, drivers license number, and bank account number to a bunch of retailers that already have a bad history of protecting banking information. And this time, a breach could drain checking accounts where it's harder to dispute, and I also have to give up general fraud protection, reward points, extended warranties, and all the other benefits that Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, and Discover provide to me? Why?

 

[rwilliams]

Now I need them to enable Apple Pay for their business MasterCard accounts.

Oh, and BarclayCard looks like it's about ready to enable Apple Pay. Last week, trying to add one of their cards resulted in an immediate error message about it not being supported. I tried again today, and got the Terms of Service from BarclayCard, tapped "Agree", but then got a "Card Not Added" message at the very last step.

 

[Rogifan]

With ACH you have a much lower, sometimes impossible chance of getting your money back in case of fraud since the funds come directly from your bank account. With credit cards if a fraudulent charge does indeed go through then we can do chargebacks and the stolen money was credit rather than your actual funds.

Right and that's why I have very little direct debit/credit to my bank account. If I could get it down to two (my paycheck direct deposit and my Wells Fargo Visa bill) I would. Alas you can't put a mortgage payment on a credit card and stupid Xcel Energy charges a $5 fee to have their bill charged to your credit card.

 

[Tough Guy]

So anything a bank would support would be bad? We should just do away with banks then, our lives would clearly be much better and simpler then.

Banks have destroyed the lives of countless people. They've crushed the economy of just about the entire developed world multiple times throughout history. You could make the argument they're among the most corrupt institutions in human history.

We could certainly do with tighter restrictions and oversight, that's for sure. But that is unlikely to happen, as they have so much control over government.

 

[Blue Fox]

Meanwhile at CVS........

 

[AdonisSMU]

Isn't MCX basically a consortium of retailers supporting the CurrentC payment solution? Point is metchants that have signed on to this still take credit cards just not in the form of a mobile phone.

They are trying to get around the consumer protection fees CC companies charge and collect personal information like SSN, DOB, DL# and health information. Lol there is no way. Plus the system isnt even up and running yet. MCX Merchants must be stopped.

 

[gadgetguy03]

Is anyone else sitting back and wondering when someone will try to prove how secure each payment system really is?

CurrentC currently has a beta program with actual users. Are they bound by NDAs regarding it's usability and/or security?

Apple Pay is, from what I can tell (I'm a 5s user), the best solution available for both usability and security.

Google Wallet combines the two into a cloud based solution for processing NFC payments.

I am waiting for someone or some group like Anonymous to test the security of each payment methods.

 

[flat five]

"Banks have been strong supporters of Apple Pay"....

Thank you for this information. That is all I need to know that I will NEVER use this way of paying for anything. The "banks" are the new mafia. And there is an inverse relationship in that what is good for the banks, is NOT good for consumers. Only a matter of time for the "angle" to be exposed.

apple pay is low level for what you're talking about.. you want to quit supporting banks? quit using money.
banks make the money, lend the money, and all of it -plus interest (ie- money that doesn't even exist)- is owed back to them..

 

[AdonisSMU]

Banks have destroyed the lives of countless people. They've crushed the entire economy of just about the entire developed world multiple times throughout history. You could make the argument they're among the most corrupt institutions in human history.

We could certainly do with tighter restrictions and oversight, that's for sure.

And merchants like walmart who dont even pay employees enough money to buy food didnt contribute to our economic woes by putting trillions of dollars woth of mom and pop shops out of business thus increasing the liklihood of people being unemployed or underemployed.

We as consumers have a responsibility to reward banks for doing the right thing increasing our security and privacy through Apple and ApplePay.

 

[Blue Fox]

Banks have destroyed the lives of countless people. They've crushed the entire economy of just about the entire developed world multiple times throughout history. You could make the argument they're among the most corrupt institutions in human history.

We could certainly do with tighter restrictions and oversight, that's for sure.

Uh, people need to start holding THEMSELVES accountable for over-borrowing and being too ignorant to know what APR rates, loan terms and "living within your means" actually "means".

Go spew your anti-bank sentiments somewhere else. Normal, educated people have no problem with banks "destroying our lives".

 

[avanpelt]

I can see within the next few weeks CurrentC being rushed into implementation, even if it isn't ready for primetime yet.

Assuming their product actually makes it to market, I hope they don't rush it. I don't want them to rush the product and in turn make sacrifices when it comes to the security of people's personal data. The system already doesn't sound very secure as it is...at least not compared to Apple Pay.

The CurrentC system already has a high mountain to climb when it comes to end-user convenience and convincing people that it's safe to give their SSN and bank account numbers to this unknown entity known as MCX/CurrentC. They don't need to be taking any shortcuts to rush the product if they actually want to try to be a viable player in the mobile payment space.

 

[Tough Guy]

And merchants like walmart who dont even pay employees enough money to buy food didnt contribute to our economic woes by putting trillions of dollars woth of mom and pop shops out of business thus increasing the liklihood of people being out of unemployed or underemployed.

We as consumers have a responsibility to reward banks for doing the right thing increasing our security and privacy through Apple and ApplePay.

What a strange reply.

The very last thing consumers have a responsibility to do is to reward banks.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

"Banks have been strong supporters of Apple Pay"....

Thank you for this information. That is all I need to know that I will NEVER use this way of paying for anything. The "banks" are the new mafia. And there is an inverse relationship in that what is good for the banks, is NOT good for consumers. Only a matter of time for the "angle" to be exposed.

Ummmm the "angle" is a more secure payment method (i.e. less fraud) and continued use of Credit Cards (2-3% fees, and high interest rates). So if you already use CC's it's the same deal just more secure.

 

[AdonisSMU]

What a strange reply.

The very last thing consumers have a responsibility to do is to reward banks.

Reward them with our continued business for adding security and privacy via ApplePay or Google Wallet etc... Or would you rather give retailers unfeddered access to your bank account and personal information with grossly and demonstratively insecure QR Codes....

 

[Tough Guy]

Uh, people need to start holding THEMSELVES accountable for over-borrowing and being too ignorant to know what APR rates, loan terms and "living within your means" actually "means".

Go spew your anti-bank sentiments somewhere else. Normal, educated people have no problem with banks "destroying our lives".

Nah. I'll spew it right here. Unless you wanna try and stop me. Your call.

And I'm guessing you've never bothered to take a single macroeconomics class or have any real understanding of economic policy, the degree to which it is influenced by banks and its effects on the economy and the ENTIRE population as a whole. Good luck pulling yourself up by your boot straps during a worldwide economic collapse.

The day I hold MYSELF responsible for the actions of the federal reserve and the world's major banks will be a cold day in hell. If you'd like to take responsibility for their actions like a fool, be my guest.

 

[gadgetguy03]

Assuming their product actually makes it to market, I hope they don't rush it. I don't want them to rush the product and in turn make sacrifices when it comes to the security of people's personal data. The system already doesn't sound very secure as it is...at least not compared to Apple Pay.

The CurrentC system already has a high mountain to climb when it comes to end-user convenience and convincing people that it's safe to give their SSN and bank account numbers to this unknown entity known as MCX/CurrentC. They don't need to be taking any shortcuts to rush the product if they actually want to try to be a viable player in the mobile payment space.

Oh I agree 100%. I don't want them to make shortcuts or compromises, especially considering the sensitive data they are requesting. However, they are now placed on the defensive because of CVS and RiteAid's actions. I could see a knee-jerk reaction on the horizon. I don't know exactly what that will be but they are now going to have an uphill battle in the eyes of the average consumer.

Granted, we know the ins and outs as techies but as far as the average consumer all they see is a company not supporting a secure method of payment.

 

[Lancetx]

All I know is I sure trust my bank with my sensitive financial data before I'll ever trust any merchant with it. Target and Home Depot are just the highest profile cases, but there have literally been dozens of merchant data breaches in the last couple of years that have exposed consumers credit/debit card information. It's only a matter of time before CurrentC will face the same, if it even gets off the ground at all that is. It should be DOA with all of the negative publicity it's currently receiving.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Im usually as liberal as they come but even I have to side with the banks on this issue.

 

[macfacts]

So, basically Wells Fargo is saying "please use this more secure and convenient method of paying. And by the way, if you do, then:"

Image

To me, it is more like a drug dealer telling me " the first hit is free".

 

[greytmom]

Capital One didn't have to incent me to use Apple Pay, but I surely wouldn't turn any bonuses down...

 

[C DM]

Banks have destroyed the lives of countless people. They've crushed the economy of just about the entire developed world multiple times throughout history. You could make the argument they're among the most corrupt institutions in human history.

We could certainly do with tighter restrictions and oversight, that's for sure. But that is unlikely to happen, as they have so much control over government.

Governments have destroyed the lives of many. Clearly we should do away with them too. So have many companies and and many people and even animals and even nature. Basically we are talking about overgeneralized FUD for the most part. Got it. We can move on.

 

[xraydoc]

What a strange reply.

The very last thing consumers have a responsibility to do is to reward banks.

At least for me, the goal of using  Pay is not to reward banks, but to protect my private information from being accessed should the merchant get hacked (like Target, Home Depot, etc.).

With  Pay, my actual card/account number never gets transferred, and the single-use transaction token that may be stored in the merchant's system is of zero value to a hacker and cannot be used for fraudulent charges or identity theft.

For many, it's got nothing to do with a phone being faster or easier than an actual card swipe. But if you look at how the system works, it's clear that it's far more secure than giving the business your credit card number (or, in the case of CurrentC, your checking account and routing numbers, your soc. sec. number and your drivers' license number). Yes, my bank has that information, too. But my bank is federally required to insure my accounts. CurrentC has no such requirement.

 

[flat five]

Uh, people need to start holding THEMSELVES accountable for over-borrowing and being too ignorant to know what APR rates, loan terms and "living within your means" actually "means".

Go spew your anti-bank sentiments somewhere else. Normal, educated people have no problem with banks "destroying our lives".

that is entirely arguable but I don't have much energy for arguing right now.. regardless, I think you'll find many highly educated people have a problem with banks destroying/enslaving our lives.

 

[C DM]

To me, it is more like a drug dealer telling me " the first hit is free".

Yes, you definitely get addicted to perhaps paying in somewhat more secure and faster way when you can and want to. Completely meaningful comparison.

 

[ptb42]

I have three credit accounts and three checking accounts at Wells Fargo.

I don't see any limit of one credit per customer -- so this is a quick $90 for me!