Apple Pay rival CurrentC to start rolling out next month

We’ll give the service a shot when it rolls out in trial mode next month, but at this point, CurrentC has a lot of catching up to do.

Because the retail group was developing the technology that was similar to Apple Pay, the contract clause stated that accepting the other mobile payment form would be a conflict of interest. What’s certain is that in the next few years you’re going to have a whole host of payment methods to choose from when you get to the checkout.

CurrentC will offer the convenience its rivals are offering enabling the consumer to pay at retail outlets that are participating.

The story behind the story: CurrentC garnered tons of press after CVS and Rite Aid prevented customers from using Apple Pay in their stores, but the service has taken months to perfect-and it still isn’t quite ready for the big time, according to Bloomberg. Lowes, however, wont be part of the initial rollout. It will also decrease the financial service fees. MCX has said its members operate 110,000 locations and process $1 trillion in purchases a year. Apple Pay, after entering the market in October last year, has gained significant traction and has recently expanded to the United Kingdom and has Canada in its sights for later this year.

On the heels of the announcement that founding retailer Best Buy had resolved to start taking Apple Pay in stores later this year, MCX brought another piece of less-than-cheerful news to the marketplace: CEO Dekkers Davidson will be leaving MCX to pursue “other opportunities”. According the Bloomberg’s sources, a three-year exclusivity agreement MCX signed with members is coming to an end in August.

Major retailers ostensibly backed CurrentC as a way to reduce transaction fees charged by credit card companies, as well as having the ability to gather and retain customer data for marketing purposes – something third-party mobile payments solutions make impossible by either not sharing this info with retailers on not gathering it in the first place. As Bloomberg points out, it also has a major hurdle regarding the signing of deals with major credit card companies, something it has yet to do. In April, a day after Best Buy said it would accept Apple Pay, MCX announced it had named Brian Mooney as its interim chief executive officer.