While CurrentC consortium MCX’s contracts state that members cannot accept competing forms of mobile payment, Midwest grocery chain Meijer appears to be the first member to break ranks by continuing to allow NFC payment – including Apple Pay.
Michigan Live quotes spokesman Frank Guglielmi as saying that the chain’s 213 grocery and gas outlets have no plans to block Apple Pay.
Meijer is currently shown on both Apple Pay and MCX websites:
We have had the technology in our stores to accept mobile wallets for several years now. If a customer has Apple Pay capability, our hardware works with it […] We don’t plan to remove or disable these systems.
When Re/code asked MCX for a comment, COO Scott Rankin said:
No, we don’t know what that means, either.
MCX yesterday said that it was “entirely possible” that members would be allowed to accept both CurrentC and Apple Pay at some unspecified point in the future, but gave no indication on whether or when this might in fact be the case. A blog post by the company has done little to reassure consumers, especially when followed by the revelation that MCX has already been hacked.
CVS was the first MCX member to disable NFC payments. When Rite Aid joined in, iOS and Android users alike responded by planning to boycott MCX members – a move now supported by a website for identifying suitable competitors. iPhone users have also been hitting back by giving 1-star reviews to the CurrentC app on iTunes.
At this point, we’re almost starting to feel sorry for MCX …
