The USA is so absurdly behind the times when it comes to contactless payments. Now, some retailers are switching NFC off to block Apple Pay, and of course thereby blocking Google Wallet and other mobile payment systems.

It's because a consortium of retailers is planning its own mobile wallet system, based on a series of QR codes (retailer produces QR code that's scanned by customer, and customer's smartphone then produces QR code that's scanned by retailer) and linked to customers' bank accounts. This system, called CurrentC, isn't yet backed by a single bank because it's designed to circumvent card processing fees.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/25/7...-out-apple-pay

It seems incredible that a retailer would remove a secure method of payment. It appears that they no interest in what their customers actually want.

You can understand why retailers want a slice of the 2.5% that goes to credit card companies (or banks) but suddenly turning against NFC seems a strange way to do it, especially when their alternative system isn't working yet.

This could be another example of how a new payment system like ApplePay shakes up the market. I know that ApplePay is not particularly innovative and NFC has been about for a while. However, if it makes waves in the finance industry it might result in a better deal for consumers.

The problem is exclusive contracts from what I've read. PayWave cards aren't common in the US and Google Wallet has hardly had any take up.


The innovative bits are the lack of customer and merchant data sharing - Google Wallet wanted the transaction info I gather - and CurrentC wants more info about the customer and connects the bank account to the merchant without the credit card companies. But it uses QR codes? Odd.

The description of currentc sounds a little like a self scan and pay system.

If I had implied that ApplePay was innovative I would have invoked the wrath of Apple haters.

Of course retailers would like to gather information about shoppers. That's what loyalty cards are all about. I applaud Apple for addressing the security and privacy concerns.

CurrentC seems like the ideal way for even better data breaches than before. Certain US retailers have proven that they can't be trusted to keep magstripe card data safe, let alone bank account information which CurrentC works off of.

And just as the US was about to join the rest of the world in getting rid of the insecure magstripe as the primary method of card payment, too.

I can see this being a bit of a failure, like how CDMA vs GSM/UMTS was for the US cellular user.

Contactless cards are common in the US. They've had them longer than us.

Contact less cards might be common, but point of sales terminals are not.

I go to the U.S. about 6 times a year and using chip and pin is rare, using contactless is unheard of.

Apple pay is the usual agenda with commissions heading to Cupertino and blockage of anything else.

Usual Apple strategy. They might have to climb down just as they did with DRM for this to be adopted as a standard payment system.

What do you mean? The retailers that have blocked it (and all other NFC based mobile payment systems) have done so because it threatens their planned proprietary mobile wallet 'solution'. Nothing to do with commission.

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/27/...bile-payments/

I also go to the States a lot. Contactless terminals are everywhere. Where do you visit? Hicksville Alabama? I have seen contactless payment terminals over there since around 2006 or 7. Chip and Signature not Chip and Pin will be coming there from October 2015.

By the sounds of it its mainly part of a strategy to stop using credit cards, so that retailers don't have to pay their commission. Although don't (most of) those charges get passed on to the consumer anyway?

Basically one system is all about the benefits to the retailer (lower charges, collection of consumer data) whilst having an arguably less secure system that involves collecting payments from people's bank accounts.

And one seems to be more about the benefits to the consumer (more convenient and intuitive to use, better privacy).

This year? Chicago, Washington DC and Orlando. There are some contactless terminals but I would not describe it as widespread.

Never been to Hicksville, but have been to Huntsville a number of times.

They don't even have Chip and Pin so it doesn't surprise me.

I'd say we're further behind in contactless payments though?

I still see a load of places in the US where you hand the card to the sales person, they look at it, and then you sign a computer terminal or an old fashioned paper slip after they've already handed your card back. No-one checks signatures, and I've certainly never seen a chip and pin or been asked if I want to use a contactless system. I travel all over the US, from large cities to smaller towns.

Their seeming lack of concern for card security has always puzzled me.

It is clear they have no interest in signatures. As I'm sure you know, if you eat in a Resturant, they will take your card, bring out the receipt to be signed, and leave it with you. I always sign, put the receipt back on the table with a tip, and leave. There is no checking at all.

I know it's mentioned above.. but not just Apple being blocked, it's Google Wallet too.

This is about Stores/Merchants being greedy for sellable data... nothing more, nothing less.

... and not using credit cards.

Everyone is just after a slice of your payments. There is big money to be gained by whoever handles your payments, not just through sold data !

So it looks like CurrentC held email addresses have been compromised already.

Another interesting take:
http://www.itworld.com/article/2839251/why-currentc-will-beat-out-apple-pay-in-the-end.html

Personally I quite like the principle of apple pay but, for me, the limiting part is the "apple" bit. They are obviously limiting their market to a very small proportion of the smartphone using population (which is an even smaller percentage of the purchaser population). If they can get enough traction in the US (where they do have good percentages) then it may take hold but I suspect that as soon as someone brings out something as good but "cross platform" apple pay will be returned to the die hards.

Shame as if they actually opened it up then it might work well.

CurrentC sounds like a very backwards sounding system in turns of functionality.

Isn't it just a way of using your iPhone to make contactless payments with existing NFC terminals?

So anyone with a means of making contactless payments can still do so.

Surely it depends if the hardware is bespoke to the apple pay process or whether it will handle other NFC calls. (I don't know the answer to that).