I thought you were joking, but it's the top line on CNBC right now. They claim only email addresses lost, but then spin it with this gem: "Many of these email addresses are dummy accounts used for testing purposes only."
I guess it could get worse for these clowns, but I'm enjoying the show so far!
While rewards programs are great for a card holder they aren't for the retailer. That money you get back doesn't come from the bank, it comes from the retailer. Which is basically saying to the retailer - you make too much money and we are taking it and giving it back to the customer. If you as a customer don't think the fees are a lot, then offer to pay them.
Retailers can fight back by giving a cash discount. Still, My bank used to charge me a fee for depositing more than 10k a month. They charged me to put money in the bank. Seriously.
Banks are not your friend if you own a biz, nut when you spend money they are your best friend. So I can understand the desire to bypass the CC BS from the retailer perspective. However as a consumer I ain't using the MCX system.
At least the Apple system offers a lot more fraud protection which from a merchant's perspective means less disputed charges. Still, with this system there's one more middle man.
If you truly believe you have a better system then you have nothing to fear.... Dont force your retailors Into an exclusiveity contract.
Lets see if the consumer will choose your system over apple or google.
Blocking other payment systens is a loud cry of fear .. Cry that says no one will choose to use your cumbersom system if they have an option to use another !
MCX the more you drag this bs on the more credibility u lose!
Target has the Red Card. I don't recall anyone bashing that reward program that gives you 5% off your purchase. That card is linked to your checking account.
How many of you would like to pay a 2% or 3% royalty every time you sold a product in your store? How many of you would like to pay no royalty every time you sold a product in your store? If a company can give you a payment system, where they don't have to pay another company a royalty fee, then that is the ideal method for them.
No one is complaining about rewards. It's the fact they had NFC enabled and then disabled it due to Apple Pay.
"CurrentC does not collect any information from any other apps, or health information stored in the mobile device," Davidson said. The CEO also included a link to the CurrentC privacy policy, but as of Wednesday morning the page was broken, returning a 404 error.
Yes, exactly... CurrentC does not collect from ANY OTHER APPS! This is a big difference and the main reason that stores want to keep "CC," collecting your data. From BestBuy/Walmart/et al's POV I understand -- Not from my POV though. Enough of the incessent marketing from collecting my data. (I'm reminded of a previous AI story about the EU and privacy -- re: Google searches -- that the individual has the right to privacy even if the search results are "good.")
Like others, I feel much better now that I know CurrentC data is stored securely in the cloud " src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" />. We really need a new storage metaphor - clouds are designed to leak, aren't they?
I am a long time CVS shopper and I am outraged. This policy is clearly NOT based on what is best for their customers. if it was, they would let the customers decide. I for one will never sign up for their system and will start getting my prescriptions elsewhere.
I went to McDonald's the other day to try out Apple Pay for the first time. Got to the payment window. "I want to use Apple Pay." I said. "Sure, let me add an apple pie to your order." He said. "No, Apple Pay...mobile payment". I said. Clueless. He called his manager over. Thankfully, he knew what to do. Trx went thru as easy as advertised. I ended up getting an apple pie too. True story.
I'm not handing over my debit card/credit card over anymore if Apple Pay is available. I've had to get new debit cards twice in the last year because of Target and Home Depot breaches. Why would anyone want to pass out their banking info to more parties than needed? Tokenization is the way to go. CurrentC will be DOA at this rate.
Not a chance these guys are getting my bank account info. Don't want my account number out there to be hacked.
Funny thing, the retailers such as Walmart say they want to offer payment options, but they restrict Apple Pay. It sounds more like they want things their way than protecting my privacy, credit card and offering me a payment option.
Direct access to my checking account without any benefits? HELL NO.
I use a debit card because I get massive benefits:
I charge about $150 on my debit card a month.
I can withdrawl cash at ANY ATM without a fee.
I get $1200 a year in rewards checking interest.
Without those benefits I would use my creditcards exclusively.
Are you saying that you keep $150 in your checking and get $1200 in rewards or you have a quite large amount of money to get interest like this? - in the latter case this is NOT technically a benefit but just return from your investment.
We spend $40k+ annually on a credit card that gives 2%+ cashback.
We get around $1k back just by using this card for purchases. Interest on checking/saving/capital investments is a completely different story.
""Removing this sensitive information from the mobile device significantly lowers the risk of it being inappropriately disclosed in a case that the mobile device is hacked, stolen or otherwise compromised," Davidson wrote."
Ah. That explains the list of email addresses that hackers just stole from the "secure" cloud-based servers...
OK, I've gone ahead and not only read the blog post, but also the privacy policy line by line. Some takeaways:
MCX begins by saying that retailers are certainly free to use their system or not. (Yay! Free Will!). Then the next sentence in the blog post says that MCX companies work with them exclusively. (Free Will!....errr, not so much). Now in MCX's defense, they do say there are no fines for leaving the organization (but not if there used to be). The problem is that you can't do MCX *and* a competing mobile wallet system. So Rite Aid and CVS had to chose sides...but at least they or others can change their mind.
They talk about that it will work on any recent smartphone, which is a plus. They talk about that the system is designed to work with gift cards, credit cards, loyalty cards, debit accounts and personal checking accounts....and then they say they plan too add other forms of payment like credit cards. Since they mentioned credit cards already, I'm thinking what they meant was "store-backed credit cards"' like Target Red or Macy's, not a normal bank-baked credit card. True credit cards will come later, but I think the point of adding those services will be as a negotiation point for lower swipe fees with those networks.
There is a big trust factor about having a third party company with direct access to your checking account in this way. Now it's not like it's unprecedented. Paypal has millions of checking accounts on file with their service. Not everyone has a credit card. But Paypal has been proven over the last decade where this system is still unproven.
The fact that they mention that they store information in a secure cloud does not give me any additional comfort considering the news in the last few years. Like with any service, the issue is how all this is implemented. The fact that they are already reporting a minor security breach today isn't looking good for the whole trust thing.
Now onto the Privacy Policy. It reads like lots of other privacy policies, but here are the notes:
Collection of things like SSN numbers and Driver's license numbers looks like they are required to for access to checking account information, but honestly, I don't remember giving Paypal any of this information. They say they don't keep this data, but the fact they have it at all for a short period of time introduces a possible security vector that has to be kept very safe.
They do keep Personally Identifiable Information about you, especially if you opt in on their marketing schemes. Honestly, they warn you that not opting in for this pretty much knee-caps the service...which is limiting their ability for them and partners to sell you more stuff.
They use information about your phone to identify you specifically. That includes the possible use of fingerprint data from your phone. That's not possible with iOS so I'm guessing they are saying they could do this with Android somehow.
They use the phone's GPS and cell tower information to locate you near a merchant store in order to identify and market to you. Honestly, this is already being done elsewhere...Apple's iBeacons do this with Bluetooth and some apps do this with GPS and cell phone location...Walgreens does this on my iPhone right now.
If you opt-in, you will be marketed and advertised to by the MCX Merchant and/or the loyalty program being used. Not a surprise since this is one of the primary benefits of the service to the member stores.
One of the more interesting aspects of this is their mention of health care related data regarding HIPAA regulations. They do talk about that while the data is guarded, that a member merchant might use the data of things like "how often does a person come to this store and refill this specific prescription". Again, this isn't new data to collect....Walgreens already does something like this with their current loyalty system which relies on your phone number at checkout. Entering this number is still asked, even if you use Apple Pay.
So again, to sum up:
MCX merchants must work with them exclusively. They can leave the system without penalty but they cannot offer MCX and a competitor.
MCX will work with credit cards...eventually.
MCX will share your data with MCX Merchants...you'll need to check the privacy policies of the merchants and/or their loyalty programs once that data is shared.
MCX uses personally identifiable data on your cell phone and possible your fingerprint if they can acquire it.
They make no mention of security used to protect bank accounts and debit accounts other than "secure cloud".
MCX members may use data from other third party providers to further identify you...so they can properly market you later.
Seems like it may take a year or two, at least, to get all the legal issues worked out for Apple Pay before it really becomes main stream. It is one of the big selling points for me in getting a new iPhone, but think I'll wait for the iPhone 7 when this is hopefully all worked out and Apple Pay comes out of its growing pains. Not a big fan of the design of the 6 anyway. Gonna upgrade to the gold 5s.. Currently using the 4.
MCX will share your data with MCX Merchants...you'll need to check the privacy policies of the merchants and/or their loyalty programs once that data is shared.
I think the name Merchant CUSTOMER EXCHANGE pretty much says it all. A customer's information and data will be exchanged and shared to one and all.
I pay for 99% of what I buy via my credit card, earning maybe $400/year in "cash back." I never saw the appeal of debit cards, but I also wasn't aware there was a way to get $100/month is rewards. What's the secret? (I assume it's not "keep $250,000 in your checking account earning 0.05% interest.")
And how much interest do you pay a year to earn that $400 cash back?
Direct access to my checking account without any benefits? HELL NO.
I use a debit card because I get massive benefits:
I charge about $150 on my debit card a month.
I can withdrawl cash at ANY ATM without a fee.
I get $1200 a year in rewards checking interest.
Without those benefits I would use my creditcards exclusively.
Agreed, same logic applies even with credit cards. I use credit cards - and would use Apple Pay linked to a card - because I want the flexibility to make purchases which might not, er, coincide with my current checking account balance. Plus, when I use a credit card, I get benefits (miles, rebates, etc.). Why would I use a cumbersome app that directly deducts from my checking account?
If you pay off your statement balance on a due day, there is no interest.
You do realize that is horrible for your credit rating?
That's going to cost you more in the long run with higher interest rates because of the damage it does to your credit score.
Comments
I thought you were joking, but it's the top line on CNBC right now. They claim only email addresses lost, but then spin it with this gem: "Many of these email addresses are dummy accounts used for testing purposes only."
I guess it could get worse for these clowns, but I'm enjoying the show so far!
Popcorn is started !!
Retailers can fight back by giving a cash discount. Still, My bank used to charge me a fee for depositing more than 10k a month. They charged me to put money in the bank. Seriously.
Banks are not your friend if you own a biz, nut when you spend money they are your best friend. So I can understand the desire to bypass the CC BS from the retailer perspective. However as a consumer I ain't using the MCX system.
At least the Apple system offers a lot more fraud protection which from a merchant's perspective means less disputed charges. Still, with this system there's one more middle man.
If you truly believe you have a better system then you have nothing to fear....
Dont force your retailors Into an exclusiveity contract.
Lets see if the consumer will choose your system over apple or google.
Blocking other payment systens is a loud cry of fear .. Cry that says no one will choose to use your cumbersom system if they have an option to use another !
MCX the more you drag this bs on the more credibility u lose!
No one is complaining about rewards. It's the fact they had NFC enabled and then disabled it due to Apple Pay.
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
"CurrentC does not collect any information from any other apps, or health information stored in the mobile device," Davidson said. The CEO also included a link to the CurrentC privacy policy, but as of Wednesday morning the page was broken, returning a 404 error.
Yes, exactly... CurrentC does not collect from ANY OTHER APPS! This is a big difference and the main reason that stores want to keep "CC," collecting your data. From BestBuy/Walmart/et al's POV I understand -- Not from my POV though. Enough of the incessent marketing from collecting my data. (I'm reminded of a previous AI story about the EU and privacy -- re: Google searches -- that the individual has the right to privacy even if the search results are "good.")
Like others, I feel much better now that I know CurrentC data is stored securely in the cloud
" src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" />. We really need a new storage metaphor - clouds are designed to leak, aren't they?
Funny story,
I went to McDonald's the other day to try out Apple Pay for the first time. Got to the payment window. "I want to use Apple Pay." I said. "Sure, let me add an apple pie to your order." He said. "No, Apple Pay...mobile payment". I said. Clueless. He called his manager over. Thankfully, he knew what to do. Trx went thru as easy as advertised. I ended up getting an apple pie too. True story.
I'm not handing over my debit card/credit card over anymore if Apple Pay is available. I've had to get new debit cards twice in the last year because of Target and Home Depot breaches. Why would anyone want to pass out their banking info to more parties than needed? Tokenization is the way to go. CurrentC will be DOA at this rate.
MCX thinks we will use their system because we all just want rewards and collect points and save a few bucks here and there...
Sorry guys, the rule of the game has changed. Apple shows us security, privacy, and convenience do not cost more.
Funny thing, the retailers such as Walmart say they want to offer payment options, but they restrict Apple Pay. It sounds more like they want things their way than protecting my privacy, credit card and offering me a payment option.
Why anyone would use CurrentC blows my mind.
Direct access to my checking account without any benefits? HELL NO.
I use a debit card because I get massive benefits:
I charge about $150 on my debit card a month.
I can withdrawl cash at ANY ATM without a fee.
I get $1200 a year in rewards checking interest.
Without those benefits I would use my creditcards exclusively.
Are you saying that you keep $150 in your checking and get $1200 in rewards or you have a quite large amount of money to get interest like this? - in the latter case this is NOT technically a benefit but just return from your investment.
We spend $40k+ annually on a credit card that gives 2%+ cashback.
We get around $1k back just by using this card for purchases. Interest on checking/saving/capital investments is a completely different story.
just joking
Ah. That explains the list of email addresses that hackers just stole from the "secure" cloud-based servers...
OK, I've gone ahead and not only read the blog post, but also the privacy policy line by line. Some takeaways:
MCX begins by saying that retailers are certainly free to use their system or not. (Yay! Free Will!). Then the next sentence in the blog post says that MCX companies work with them exclusively. (Free Will!....errr, not so much). Now in MCX's defense, they do say there are no fines for leaving the organization (but not if there used to be). The problem is that you can't do MCX *and* a competing mobile wallet system. So Rite Aid and CVS had to chose sides...but at least they or others can change their mind.
They talk about that it will work on any recent smartphone, which is a plus. They talk about that the system is designed to work with gift cards, credit cards, loyalty cards, debit accounts and personal checking accounts....and then they say they plan too add other forms of payment like credit cards. Since they mentioned credit cards already, I'm thinking what they meant was "store-backed credit cards"' like Target Red or Macy's, not a normal bank-baked credit card. True credit cards will come later, but I think the point of adding those services will be as a negotiation point for lower swipe fees with those networks.
There is a big trust factor about having a third party company with direct access to your checking account in this way. Now it's not like it's unprecedented. Paypal has millions of checking accounts on file with their service. Not everyone has a credit card. But Paypal has been proven over the last decade where this system is still unproven.
The fact that they mention that they store information in a secure cloud does not give me any additional comfort considering the news in the last few years. Like with any service, the issue is how all this is implemented. The fact that they are already reporting a minor security breach today isn't looking good for the whole trust thing.
Now onto the Privacy Policy. It reads like lots of other privacy policies, but here are the notes:
Collection of things like SSN numbers and Driver's license numbers looks like they are required to for access to checking account information, but honestly, I don't remember giving Paypal any of this information. They say they don't keep this data, but the fact they have it at all for a short period of time introduces a possible security vector that has to be kept very safe.
They do keep Personally Identifiable Information about you, especially if you opt in on their marketing schemes. Honestly, they warn you that not opting in for this pretty much knee-caps the service...which is limiting their ability for them and partners to sell you more stuff.
They use information about your phone to identify you specifically. That includes the possible use of fingerprint data from your phone. That's not possible with iOS so I'm guessing they are saying they could do this with Android somehow.
They use the phone's GPS and cell tower information to locate you near a merchant store in order to identify and market to you. Honestly, this is already being done elsewhere...Apple's iBeacons do this with Bluetooth and some apps do this with GPS and cell phone location...Walgreens does this on my iPhone right now.
If you opt-in, you will be marketed and advertised to by the MCX Merchant and/or the loyalty program being used. Not a surprise since this is one of the primary benefits of the service to the member stores.
One of the more interesting aspects of this is their mention of health care related data regarding HIPAA regulations. They do talk about that while the data is guarded, that a member merchant might use the data of things like "how often does a person come to this store and refill this specific prescription". Again, this isn't new data to collect....Walgreens already does something like this with their current loyalty system which relies on your phone number at checkout. Entering this number is still asked, even if you use Apple Pay.
So again, to sum up:
MCX merchants must work with them exclusively. They can leave the system without penalty but they cannot offer MCX and a competitor.
MCX will work with credit cards...eventually.
MCX will share your data with MCX Merchants...you'll need to check the privacy policies of the merchants and/or their loyalty programs once that data is shared.
MCX uses personally identifiable data on your cell phone and possible your fingerprint if they can acquire it.
They make no mention of security used to protect bank accounts and debit accounts other than "secure cloud".
MCX members may use data from other third party providers to further identify you...so they can properly market you later.
MCX will share your data with MCX Merchants...you'll need to check the privacy policies of the merchants and/or their loyalty programs once that data is shared.
I think the name Merchant CUSTOMER EXCHANGE pretty much says it all. A customer's information and data will be exchanged and shared to one and all.
And how much interest do you pay a year to earn that $400 cash back?
And how much interest do you pay a year to earn that $400 cash back?
If you pay off your statement balance on a due day, there is no interest.
Why anyone would use CurrentC blows my mind.
Direct access to my checking account without any benefits? HELL NO.
I use a debit card because I get massive benefits:
I charge about $150 on my debit card a month.
I can withdrawl cash at ANY ATM without a fee.
I get $1200 a year in rewards checking interest.
Without those benefits I would use my creditcards exclusively.
Agreed, same logic applies even with credit cards. I use credit cards - and would use Apple Pay linked to a card - because I want the flexibility to make purchases which might not, er, coincide with my current checking account balance. Plus, when I use a credit card, I get benefits (miles, rebates, etc.). Why would I use a cumbersome app that directly deducts from my checking account?
You do realize that is horrible for your credit rating?
That's going to cost you more in the long run with higher interest rates because of the damage it does to your credit score.