Apple Pay, Google Wallet and their arch enemy CurrentC

In an act of open corporate war, the consortium of firms comprising the Merchant Consumer Exchange (MCX) completed blocked Apple Pay and Google Wallet from functioning within their retail stores. This group consisted of industry giants like Wallmart, CVS and Rite Aid whose rationale for this action was that both Pay and Wallet were not upto the mark and that they want to provide better services to their customers, who for that matter, were anguished at this blockade of their favorite apps.

The real reason behind this move had perhaps nothing to do with favoring customer satisfaction, if not actually going against it. The reason was the domestic application that MCX group members were already building as an alternative to Pay and Wallet. This is CurrentC and was already out for testing among customers when this step was taken.

Before coming to the technical advantages that both Apple Pay and Google Wallet have over CurrentC, it is important to note that their blockade by MCX was one of those rare occasions when customers and fans of both the firms came together in protest of this provocative step. Some even called for a boycott of Wallmart, CVS and Rite Aid who are the three big pillars of the group.

As far as technical differences go, in brief, both Pay and Wallet are far more secure than CurrentC which is still in the testing phase. The ironic incident which actually exposed the lack of security that it offers happened when the app was hacked and millions of customer data stolen from the database. These details were of customers of MCX who had voluntarily trusted the group and signed up to participate in the initial testing of the mobile payment application.

It must be noted that unlike Pay or Wallet, CurrentC stores an array of customer information including financial. This makes it even more vulnerable to customers who are mostly unaware of this difference.

One way or another, the truth of free and fair market is that it is this type of stiff competition that keeps firms on their heels and obliges them to focus on improving customer service and delivery. As long as this rivalry around a fairly new domain does not get too ugly that customers have to suffer, it can be assumed that the prospects of mobile payment will see improvements in their metrics.