Taking an extra 15 seconds to swipe your card is not going to deter customers. An enthusiast forum is not an accurate representation of the general public.
Compared to how much time some transactions take now ... typing in your customer rewards numbers, swiping your card, go through all the options for cash back, etc., the average transaction takes way more than :15 seconds compared to something like Apple Pay. And frankly I'm not sure how Apple Pay works with rewards card holders ... I imagine that information will still have to be entered, but based on the convoluted litany of steps I have to go through now, I can't imagine how all of that will actually go down, nor what happens if I want to use a debit card with cash back ... I guess it's back to swipe and pin?
Regardless, if anyone thinks that the CurrentC App won't copy Apple's one touch system in a relatively short amount of time, they're kidding themselves. These guys aren't dumb, and they will streamline the App to be more Apple-like, just the way all the smartphone vendors fell all over themselves to redesign their phone after the iPhone was introduced. CurrentC will become much easier to use now that they see how it should be done. So the convenience factor is going to be reduced to the equivalent of Apple Pay, no question about it. And smartphone manufacturers are going to all start implementing secure one-touch systems, whether fingerprint or something else, even as basic as entering your passcode (which will offer backward compatibility with older devices Apple never will). And therein lies the rub -- security. No doubt that security is what's going to win this battle. The minute CurrentC is compromised in a big hacking scandal while Apple Pay has been running smoothly and securely the whole time, the tide will turn.
In the meantime, I agree with you, in that Apple users too will do what consumers always do -- if they really want to take advantage of electronic payments at stores that don't support Apple Pay, they will download the insecure App, and go through the motions to pay with that app, just like all the iPhone users I see with a car keychain full of swipeable customer loyalty cards which transmits all that information ApplePay won't anyway. Which makes MCX's decision all the more perplexing -- they're not gonna get every customer's data, but they're going to get the data of the customers that matter most no matter how they pay.
"I imagine that Apple Pay/Passbook will eventually work in tandem so you can choose to subscribe to coupon feeds that retailers beam out over the internet (iAds?) or locally via iBeacons. Coupons and store card benefits could all be processed in the same swipe as the transaction. Customers hate carrying around twenty different store cards for discounts so this would provide a much better customer experience."
This is what I don't get. Apple provided a way for MCX and their partners to continue to use their rewards program via tools like iBeacon and developing their own apps. Were they clever, they could make it work in tandem, but separately, with a purchase. That would be innovative.
MCX is missing the point big time. CurrentC as currently designed is neither convenient nor secure.
I think beyond the privacy invading aspects of MCX, I think what is a main motivation is the processing fees. It's been reported that those retailers combined account for around $1 trillion in annual sales. A large portion of that is credit transactions. If you look an average of 2% processing fees, we are talking about billions of dollars per year that MCX is trying to save on. In the razor thin margin businesses, it could make a huge difference. To me personally, I could care less. My security and privacy are far more important than these companies seem to think.
To me personally, I could care less. My security and privacy are far more important than these companies seem to think.
Do you use loyalty (tracking) cards for discounts? Do you use credit/debit cards normally?
I'm not accusing you of doing so, but most people I run across that say they care about privacy engage in behavior that's quite privacy-invasive, though they don't think about it that way. Or rather, it's usually that they don't understand that it is.
Do you use loyalty (tracking) cards for discounts? Do you use credit/debit cards normally?
I'm not accusing you of doing so, but most people I run across that say they care about privacy engage in behavior that's quite privacy-invasive, though they don't think about it that way. Or rather, it's usually that they don't understand that it is.
That's a fair question. I don't use loyalty programs for the specific reason that I hate merchants knowing more than they absolutely need to. As far as normal debit card purchases, I do and I know that merchants track me using my debit card to a certain extent. That is why I like ? Pay. It adds a layer of security and privacy that wasn't available to me as a consumer.
That's a fair question. I don't use loyalty programs for the specific reason that I hate merchants knowing more than they absolutely need to. As far as normal debit card purchases, I do and I know that merchants track me using my debit card to a certain extent. That is why I like ? Pay. It adds a layer of security and privacy that wasn't available to me as a consumer.
Sounds like you have the right attitude. It's the "to a certain extent" that you might underestimate. And even ?pay can only take care of the problem if the credit/debit card issuers don't feed that data straight back to the merchants. I have a personal experience I'll post soon to daylight some of the tracking behavior I've seen. It's appalling.
I understand that most people are addicted to the convenience of plastic these days, and few are going to forego that, but I hope that some of the crap we're seeing now with this MCX fiasco will make people sit up and pay a little more attention and at least cut back on the (to my mind) ridiculous use of tracked-and-analyzed plastic use for every little $5 purchase. That would at least be a good start.
Comments
Taking an extra 15 seconds to swipe your card is not going to deter customers. An enthusiast forum is not an accurate representation of the general public.
Compared to how much time some transactions take now ... typing in your customer rewards numbers, swiping your card, go through all the options for cash back, etc., the average transaction takes way more than :15 seconds compared to something like Apple Pay. And frankly I'm not sure how Apple Pay works with rewards card holders ... I imagine that information will still have to be entered, but based on the convoluted litany of steps I have to go through now, I can't imagine how all of that will actually go down, nor what happens if I want to use a debit card with cash back ... I guess it's back to swipe and pin?
Regardless, if anyone thinks that the CurrentC App won't copy Apple's one touch system in a relatively short amount of time, they're kidding themselves. These guys aren't dumb, and they will streamline the App to be more Apple-like, just the way all the smartphone vendors fell all over themselves to redesign their phone after the iPhone was introduced. CurrentC will become much easier to use now that they see how it should be done. So the convenience factor is going to be reduced to the equivalent of Apple Pay, no question about it. And smartphone manufacturers are going to all start implementing secure one-touch systems, whether fingerprint or something else, even as basic as entering your passcode (which will offer backward compatibility with older devices Apple never will). And therein lies the rub -- security. No doubt that security is what's going to win this battle. The minute CurrentC is compromised in a big hacking scandal while Apple Pay has been running smoothly and securely the whole time, the tide will turn.
In the meantime, I agree with you, in that Apple users too will do what consumers always do -- if they really want to take advantage of electronic payments at stores that don't support Apple Pay, they will download the insecure App, and go through the motions to pay with that app, just like all the iPhone users I see with a car keychain full of swipeable customer loyalty cards which transmits all that information ApplePay won't anyway. Which makes MCX's decision all the more perplexing -- they're not gonna get every customer's data, but they're going to get the data of the customers that matter most no matter how they pay.
"I imagine that Apple Pay/Passbook will eventually work in tandem so you can choose to subscribe to coupon feeds that retailers beam out over the internet (iAds?) or locally via iBeacons. Coupons and store card benefits could all be processed in the same swipe as the transaction. Customers hate carrying around twenty different store cards for discounts so this would provide a much better customer experience."
This is what I don't get. Apple provided a way for MCX and their partners to continue to use their rewards program via tools like iBeacon and developing their own apps. Were they clever, they could make it work in tandem, but separately, with a purchase. That would be innovative.
MCX is missing the point big time. CurrentC as currently designed is neither convenient nor secure.
I think beyond the privacy invading aspects of MCX, I think what is a main motivation is the processing fees. It's been reported that those retailers combined account for around $1 trillion in annual sales. A large portion of that is credit transactions. If you look an average of 2% processing fees, we are talking about billions of dollars per year that MCX is trying to save on. In the razor thin margin businesses, it could make a huge difference. To me personally, I could care less. My security and privacy are far more important than these companies seem to think.
To me personally, I could care less. My security and privacy are far more important than these companies seem to think.
Do you use loyalty (tracking) cards for discounts? Do you use credit/debit cards normally?
I'm not accusing you of doing so, but most people I run across that say they care about privacy engage in behavior that's quite privacy-invasive, though they don't think about it that way. Or rather, it's usually that they don't understand that it is.
Do you use loyalty (tracking) cards for discounts? Do you use credit/debit cards normally?
I'm not accusing you of doing so, but most people I run across that say they care about privacy engage in behavior that's quite privacy-invasive, though they don't think about it that way. Or rather, it's usually that they don't understand that it is.
That's a fair question. I don't use loyalty programs for the specific reason that I hate merchants knowing more than they absolutely need to. As far as normal debit card purchases, I do and I know that merchants track me using my debit card to a certain extent. That is why I like ? Pay. It adds a layer of security and privacy that wasn't available to me as a consumer.
That's a fair question. I don't use loyalty programs for the specific reason that I hate merchants knowing more than they absolutely need to. As far as normal debit card purchases, I do and I know that merchants track me using my debit card to a certain extent. That is why I like ? Pay. It adds a layer of security and privacy that wasn't available to me as a consumer.
Sounds like you have the right attitude. It's the "to a certain extent" that you might underestimate. And even ?pay can only take care of the problem if the credit/debit card issuers don't feed that data straight back to the merchants. I have a personal experience I'll post soon to daylight some of the tracking behavior I've seen. It's appalling.
I understand that most people are addicted to the convenience of plastic these days, and few are going to forego that, but I hope that some of the crap we're seeing now with this MCX fiasco will make people sit up and pay a little more attention and at least cut back on the (to my mind) ridiculous use of tracked-and-analyzed plastic use for every little $5 purchase. That would at least be a good start.