The fun and frenzy behind Apple Pay has been dealt its first major blow after two major pharmaceutical companies disabled the service in stores. Apple Pay was expected to be the darling of major retailers, but it seems all is not going well as initially thought, with a number of merchants maintaining reservations about the service.
CurrentC to rival Apple Pay
Customers have already aired their anger on Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) and CVS move to disable a service that is seen as the epitome of convenience in terms of paying for transactions. CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS) has not provided a reason behind the unprecedented action while Rite Aid maintains it is evaluating all various forms of mobile payment technologies. Rite Aid has reiterated its commitment to offer a reliable, convenient, and secure payment method for its consumers after analyzing all the options on offer.
The reasons behind the barring of Action Pay are slowly coming out. Apparently a number of chain stores led by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), Best Buy Co Inc. (NYSE:BBY) and other 50 retailers have reportedly been working on their own mobile payment system called CurrentC.
The new system according to Bloomberg cuts out Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), MasterCard Inc. (NYSE:MA) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP); platforms that currently support Apple Pay.
Merchants Looking to Save on Swiping Fees
The working of CurrentC will go a long way in saving on swipe fees that account for 2% of what credit card companies have always pocketed on transactions. CurrentC, unlike Apple Pay, will also allow merchants to gather important transaction data that would allow them to offer discounts, as well as offer loyalty programs. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s payment system deprives, merchants the ability to offer discounts under its current operating status.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO, Tim Cook, remains buoyant about Apple Pay’s prospects of succeeding in the market reiterating, that existing payment systems were only designed to meet the needs of the creators instead of providing a convenient experience for customers. Cook argues that Apple’s system is straightforward and would be user-friendly based on the fact that the company’s main goal is to sell more phones.
CurrentC specifics have not yet been given, and the service is to be available starting 2015.
