CurrentC launch halted as NFC dominates mobile payments

NFC has become the dominant form of mobile payments and no other company has been able to mount an effective competing technology. Perhaps one of the first casualties of the mobile payments war will be CurrentC, a payment app created by the consortium of retailers in the US Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX). Following a CurrentC trial in Columbus, Ohio, MCX announced recently that it would focus on "other aspects of our business" and would lay off 30 employees.

MCX is not abandoning mobile payments. The company wants to work with financial institutions such as Chase, according to CEO Brian Mooney. It is unclear how a future mobile payment strategy for MCX would differ from CurrentC. Many saw CurrentC dead on arrival, as it relies on QR codes for payments while Apple Pay had already gained a strong foothold in the market with NFC-based mobile payments.

Another sign CurrentC was not doing so well is that Wal-Mart, an MCX member, announced its own mobile payment app, which also relies on QR codes. Some chain stores can find success with their own mobile payment apps if they are large enough. Starbucks has seen success with this. However, it is unclear whether retailer-specific payment apps can survive when multipurpose NFC-based modes such as Apple Pay and Android Pay are accepted in most places. Wal-Mart has taken a stand by not accepting payments from these services, but that might not last forever if they become dominant purchasing methods.

These moves further reinforce the importance of NFC. MST, another mobile payment technology given a boost by Samsung Pay, can be conveniently used at any credit card terminal, but as more machines adopt NFC, this advantage will become moot. Global Sources has written before about NFC's dominance in mobile payments and the importance of incorporating it into smartphones. It is already unacceptable to launch a high-end phone without NFC, but it probably would not be long beforeit is as essential as camera modules. Mobile phones are becoming important tools for everything, including payments, and everyone up and down the economic spectrum will expect to be able to use their phones in this way.