View source for Company:Merchant Customer Exchange

{{Infobox company
| name = Merchant Customer Exchange
| logo = Merchant_Customer_Exchange_Logo.png
| type = [[Social:Limited liability company|LLC]]
| location_city = Waltham, Massachusetts
| location_country = {{wipe|United States}}
| owner = [[Company:JPMorgan Chase|JPMorgan Chase]]
}}

'''Merchant Customer Exchange''' ('''MCX''') was a company created by a consortium of U.S. retail companies to develop a merchant-owned mobile payment system, which was to be called "CurrentC."  The joint venture was announced on August 15, 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=Leading Retailers Form Merchant Customer Exchange to Deliver Mobile Wallet|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/leading-retailers-form-merchant-customer-120000779.html;_ylt=A2KJ3CZYxCtQrgUAa73QtDMD|publisher=Yahoo News|access-date=August 15, 2012}}</ref>

The company was led by merchants such as 7-Eleven, Alon Brands, [[Company:Best Buy|Best Buy]], [[Company:CVS Health|CVS Health]], [[Company:Darden Restaurants|Darden Restaurants]], HMSHost, Hy-Vee, [[Company:Lowe's|Lowe's]], Michaels, [[Company:Publix|Publix]], Sears Holdings, Shell Oil Products US, [[Company:Sunoco|Sunoco]], [[Company:Target Corporation|Target Corporation]] and [[Company:Walmart|Walmart]]. The initial retailers that were part of the company account for about $1 trillion in annual sales.<ref>{{cite news|title=Payments Network Takes on Google|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444042704577589523094336872|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=August 15, 2012|date=August 15, 2012|last=Sidel|first=Robin|pages=C1, C2}}</ref>

In March 2017, the technology developed by MCX was purchased by [[Company:JPMorgan Chase|JPMorgan Chase]] for its Chase Pay system.<ref>[https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/06/23/digital-wallet-firm-travails-offer-lesson-put-customers-before-merchants/i7OfPEYgMJv9lkf8qEb0JP/story.html Digital wallet firm’s travails offer a lesson: Put customers before merchants]</ref>

==CurrentC==
MCX's flagship product was CurrentC, a mobile payments platform. The system utilized a [[Engineering:Smartphone|smartphone]] [[Mobile app|app]] and digital wallet: to make a purchase, the user scanned a [[QR code]] shown on the cashier's screen, or had the cashier scan a QR code from the phone's screen. Instead of transmitting financial data over the internet, the transaction used a token placeholder that was then converted by the financial institution to initiate the [[Finance:Automated Clearing House|Automated Clearing House]] (ACH), [[Finance:Gift card|gift card]], private label charge card or other type of payment and charge the consumer.<ref name=techcrunch>{{cite web|last1=Constine|first1=Josh|title=CurrentC Is The Big Retailers' Clunky Attempt To Kill Apple Pay And Credit Card Fees|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/10/25/currentc/|website=TechCrunch|date=October 25, 2014 |publisher=AOL Inc.|access-date=October 26, 2014}}</ref> The CurrentC app also included features that would help the user locate a retailer, display coupons, display loyalty program details, and track receipts using data collected from transactions and the user's device.<ref name=techcrunch />

The system was designed by Joseph Corcoran and provided to MCX under NDA and based on the granted US Patent that he invented. [[Company:Gemalto|Gemalto]] was contracted to provide the backend processing. Weeks after Dekkers Davidson became CEO of MCX, Dekkers favoured doing a deal with Paydiant instead (A company he already had a relationship with{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}). The breach of the Gemalto contract resulted in a Court Judgment being granted to Gemalto against MCX for over $40 million{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}. Paydiant is a [[Finance:Startup company|startup]] based in Boston, now acquired by [[Company:PayPal|PayPal]].<ref name=bostinno-mcxcurrentc>{{cite web|title=This Boston Startup Hopes It Can Win Like Starbucks Vs. Apple Pay|url=http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/10/28/who-is-mcx-can-it-win-like-starbucks-vs-apple-pay/|website=Bostinno|access-date=29 January 2015}}</ref>  The system, intentionally, does not support all credit cards, as one of its goals is to prevent merchants from having to pay their interchange fees. CurrentC transactions can directly debit customers' banking accounts via the ACH system.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sanders|first1=James|title=Apple Pay competitor CurrentC hacked before service launch|url=http://www.techrepublic.com/article/apple-pay-competitor-currentc-hacked-before-service-launch/|website=[[TechRepublic]]|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=November 6, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Rash|first1=Wayne|title=CurrentC Must Coexist With Apple Play to Survive in Retail World|url=http://www.eweek.com/mobile/currentc-must-coexist-with-apple-play-to-survive-in-retail-world.html|website=eWeek|publisher=QuinStreet|access-date=November 6, 2014}}</ref>

On launch, CurrentC supported the use of QR codes, Bluetooth Low Energy beacons and geolocation, unlike its competitors which mainly use [[Near-field communication|near-field communication]]s. CurrentC entered public beta for users in Columbus, Ohio in September 2015. The trial period at Target stores ended on June 30, 2016.{{fact|date=July 2017}}

=== Reception ===
The soft launch of CurrentC was met with controversy. Critics felt that MCX members were engaging in [[Collusion|collusion]] by attempting to prevent the use of competing, near-field communications-based contactless payment services, such as [[Software:Apple Pay|Apple Pay]] and [[Software:Google Pay (payment method)|Google Pay]]—both of which are backed by companies involved in the wireless industry—at their establishments. MCX members [[Company:Best Buy|Best Buy]] and [[Company:Walmart|Walmart]] explicitly stated that they would not support Apple Pay at their stores, while in late-October 2014, [[Company:CVS Health|CVS Health]] and Rite-Aid silently disabled the ability to use NFC payments entirely.<ref name=ars-cvsriteaid>{{cite web|title=Apple Pay goes offline at CVS, Rite Aid|url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/10/apple-pay-goes-offline-at-cvs-rite-aid/|website=Ars Technica|date=October 27, 2014 |access-date=30 October 2014}}</ref><ref name="NYT: Apple's Way">{{cite web |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/banks-did-it-apples-way-in-payments-by-mobile/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1& |title=Banks Did It Apple's Way in Payments by Mobile |last1=Popper |first1=Nathaniel |date=September 11, 2014 |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826104730/https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/banks-did-it-apples-way-in-payments-by-mobile/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=2 |archive-date=August 26, 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Although ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'' reported that this was a contractual requirement which could result in fines if retailers do not comply, MCX CEO Dekkers Davidson denied this claim, stating that it was up to individual retailers to decide which payment systems they want to support, but made a statement implying a technological limitation preventing the use of the system alongside other contactless payment systems at the present time.<ref name=verge-triestoandfails>{{cite web|title=CurrentC tries and fails to explain why merchants are blocking Apple Pay|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/10/29/7101549/mcx-tries-fails-to-explain-apply-pay-blocking-in-favor-of-currentc|website=The Verge|date=October 29, 2014 |access-date=30 October 2014}}</ref> Davidson later admitted that it had requested that MCX members implement exclusivity for CurrentC for a period lasting several months in order to give the platform "breathing room", and denied any direct order to CVS requiring that it stop accepting other NFC-based payment methods.<ref name=recode-afraid>{{cite news|title=What Are the Anti-Apple Pay Merchants Afraid Of?|url=http://recode.net/2014/11/04/what-are-the-anti-apple-pay-merchants-afraid-of/|access-date=5 November 2014|work=Re/code|date=4 November 2014}}</ref> On October 30, 2014, regional supermarket chain and MCX member Meijer denied any plans to disable competing contactless payment services.<ref name=verge-Meijer>{{cite news|title=Grocery chain Meijer breaks with other CurrentC retailers to accept Apple Pay|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/10/30/7132059/meijer-breaks-with-other-currentc-retailers-to-accept-mobile-payments|access-date=30 October 2014|work=The Verge|date=30 October 2014}}</ref>

The security of the system was also a cause for concern: on October 29, 2014, the company revealed that some email addresses of participants and individuals participating in the pilot program had been accessed. No information about the number of individuals affected by this hack has been disclosed.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://time.com/3546186/apple-pay-currentc-hacked/ | title=Retailers' Apple Pay Competitor Has Already Been Hacked | date=October 29, 2014 | publisher=Time | access-date=October 29, 2014}}</ref> CurrentC can also collect customer data for use by merchants: its [[Privacy policy|privacy policy]] states that the service's software may collect location data for the purposes of completing transactions, [[Biology:Protected health information|protected health information]] during medical-oriented transactions, and information about the device and operating system the app is installed on. The service may, on an opt-out basis, also collect information for use in connection with marketing and loyalty programs.<ref name=techcrunch /><ref name=recode-banningapplepay>{{cite news|title=Retailers Banning Apple Pay Are Taking a Big Security Risk|url=http://recode.net/2014/10/28/retailers-banning-apple-pay-are-taking-big-security-risk/|access-date=30 October 2014|work=Recode}}</ref>

In response to the concerns surrounding its security issues and the anti-competitive actions performed by MCX members, a semi-organized campaign emerged on the iOS [[Software:App Store (iOS)|App Store]] and Google Play Store to give the CurrentC software negative and low-scoring reviews in protest.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/10/29/7089829/iphone-android-currentc-reviews | title=iPhone and Android fans are raiding reviews of the CurrentC payments app | work=The Verge | date=October 29, 2014 | access-date=October 29, 2014}}</ref>

On April 28, 2015, Best Buy announced that it would begin to support Apple Pay at its locations, explaining that "today's consumers have many different ways to spend their money and we want to give our customers as many options as possible in how they pay for goods and services at Best Buy."<ref name=ars-bestbuynfc>{{cite web|title=Best Buy will accept Apple Pay despite allegiance to CurrentC and MCX|url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/2015/04/27/best-buy-will-accept-apple-pay-despite-allegiance-to-currentc-and-mcx/|website=Ars Technica|date=April 27, 2015 |access-date=29 April 2015}}</ref> On August 11, 2015, Rite Aid followed suit by announcing that contactless readers would return to all of its 4,600 U.S. stores, giving Apple Pay and Google Wallet users the ability to use those services as a method of payment once again.

=== Deactivation ===
In May 2016, MCX announced that they were postponing a nationwide rollout of the CurrentC application.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://consumerist.com/2016/06/07/currentc-ends-beta-tests-will-deactivate-accounts-later-this-month/|title=CurrentC Ends Beta Tests, Will Deactivate Accounts Later This Month|date=2016-06-07|website=Consumerist|access-date=2017-02-14}}</ref> A month later, MCX sent e-mails to its testers saying that their accounts would be deleted by the end of June. The e-mail stated, “We will be concluding our beta test and postponing further releases of CurrentC on June 28, 2016. Therefore, June 28 will be the last day that transactions will be accepted using CurrentC.”<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://arstechnica.com/business/2016/06/currentc-retailers-defiant-answer-to-apple-pay-will-deactivate-its-user-accounts/|title=CurrentC—retailers' defiant answer to Apple Pay—will deactivate its user accounts|newspaper=Ars Technica|access-date=2017-02-14|language=en-us}}</ref>

A spokesman for MCX stated that the company has “not announced future timelines or plans around the app but we’re looking forward to analyzing and learning from the data we collected throughout the beta.”<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Mobile payments}}

[[Category:Mobile payments]]
[[Category:Companies (Finance)]]
[[Category:Companies]]

{{Sourceattribution|Merchant Customer Exchange}}