Apple Pay competitor CurrentC, backed by major retailers like Walmart, Target and others, may not launch nationwide until sometime in 2016, rather than by the end of 2015 as originally planned. That's the word from Brian Mooney, the CEO of MCX (Merchant Customer Exchange), the parent company of CurrentC, even as it prepares for a small pilot program to be held in Columbus, Ohio in a few weeks.
Mooney spoke to Re/code, saying that MCX does not want to rush the full launch of CurrentC until it is ready to be deployed:
"This is a long game," Mooney said. "Certainly going faster is always better — that's not necessarily a debatable point. But we're going to do it right."
Members of the MCX consortium have signed exclusivity agreements to not use any other NFC payment system other than CurrentC, but Re/code reports those contract expire later this month. MCX member Rite Aid has already announced it will start supporting Apple Pay in its stores on August 15, and it's likely that other members will be making similar announcements in the weeks ahead.
Source: Re/code