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Simon Sage
In a recent interview, CEO of the Merchant Customer Exchange consortium Dekkers Davidson denied that they had ordered CVS to block Apple Pay, and the exclusivity clause in their agreements with retailers would expire in "months, not years".
Davidson went on to say that they weren't afraid of multiple compelling mobile payment systems being in use, and that the exclusivity was simply to provide breathing room for the development of their solution, CurrentC.
For those unfamiliar, MCX is an organization of retailers that have been creating their own mobile payment solution since well before the wraps were taken off Apple Pay. Now the binding agreement is putting some retailers in a tough spot between honoring that arrangement or getting on board with Apple Pay, which is likely to be fairly successful. One major chain, CVS, briefly introduced Apple Pay support and proved that it's technically possible, but went on to block Apple Pay afterwards. For those curious as to how CurrentC operates, be sure to read our technical deep dive here.
Source: Re/code
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