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As much as I don't care for the IOS experience on so many levels, I have to say that the transfer of data from old phone to new phone via icloud was phenomenal. Icon layout, ringtones, wallpaper, etc. just appeared and required no interaction once the restore form the icloud backup was complete.
As much as I don't care for the IOS experience on so many levels, I have to say that the transfer of data from old phone to new phone via icloud was phenomenal. Icon layout, ringtones, wallpaper, etc. just appeared and required no interaction once the restore form the icloud backup was complete.
Anyone on 8.1 having issues with the lock screen? I have found about 10% of the time when I go to open an individual message it just brings me right to the home screen as if I didn't open the individual message.
Anyone on 8.1 having issues with the lock screen? I have found about 10% of the time when I go to open an individual message it just brings me right to the home screen as if I didn't open the individual message.
No but sometimes I open mail or text and it hangs.
There's a lot of hype around Apple Pay right now, but not everyone is on board with the new mobile payments system. In fact, a significant number of merchants, including heavyweights like Walmart, Kmart, 7-Eleven, and Best Buy, are in outright competition with Apple Pay. The retailers, through a joint venture formed in 2012, are building their own mobile payment app, called CurrentC. It's expected to launch next year. In the meantime, these retailers have no intention to support Apple Pay.
Following Apple's announcement last month, both Wal-Mart and Best Buy confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that customers would not be able to use the system in their stores. Earlier this week, a leaked internal memo from Rite Aid revealed that the drug store chain was modifying or disabling its NFC readers, preventing access to Apple Pay (and other systems, like Google Wallet and wireless carrier-backed SoftCard, which also depend on the contact-less technology). A representative later confirmed the news to iMore. Today, CVS followed suit and shut out Apple Pay, according to reports. Both will support CurrentC on launch next year. The companies have not immediately returned requests for comment.
MOVES BY RITE AID AND CVS EFFECTIVELY BLOCK APPLE PAY IN THEIR STORES
The fight for control of the mobile payments market is opening a rift between merchants and banks. Banks and credit card companies have enthusiastically supported Apple Pay, seeing it as a way to increase the number of purchases people make with their credit cards. But Apple has struggled to get merchants on board. A quick look at Apple's website explaining the service highlights just 34 retail partners that support the system. Eight of those are different flavors of Foot Locker. One is Apple itself.
RETAILERS ARE SEEKING TO USE MOBILE PAYMENTS TO CUT OUT CREDIT CARD COMPANIES
Meanwhile, not a single bank backs CurrentC. That's because the system is designed to cut out the middleman — and credit card processing fees. The app, when it launches next year, won't replace your plastic credit card. Instead, it will withdraw directly from your checking account when you pay at the cash register with a QR code displayed on your Android or iOS device. Or you can pay with gift cards and "select store debit and credit cards" (read: just the ones issued in partnership with CurrentC backers). In exchange for not using your credit card, the retailers plan to offer exclusive coupons and promotions to those who use the app.
The notion of a widespread payment system controlled by retailers and free of credit card processing fees is very appealing to merchants. It should come as no surprise, then, that, in addition to Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, CurrentC's partners include Gap, Old Navy, 7-Eleven, Kohls, Lowes, Dunkin' Donuts, Sam's Club, Sears, Kmart, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Banana Republic, Stop & Shop, and Wendy's — as well nearly all the major US gas station chains — among its ranks.
We'll have to wait until next year to see how well CurrentC can compete in the crowded battle for control of mobile payments, but until then, don't be surprised to see more retailers follow Rite Aid and CVS and shut off their NFC readers.
The introduction of Apple Pay last Monday was widely described as the dawn of a new era for smartphone payments. But within a week, two major pharmacy chains, Rite Aid (RAD) and CVS (CVS), rejected Apple’s (AAPL) version of the future: Both disabled Apple Pay (as well as other tap-to-pay mobile payments systems Google Wallet and Softcard). As expected, customers took to Twitter to complain, and they almost universally sided with the smartphone company over the drugstores.
CVS hasn’t publicly explained itself. Rite Aid spokeswoman Ashley Flower defended the company in an e-mail to Bloomberg Businessweek. “We are continually evaluating various forms of mobile payment technologies, and are committed to offering convenient, reliable, and secure payment methods that meet the needs of our customers,” she wrote.
That’s not the whole story. Objections to Apple Pay aren’t actually about convenience, reliability, or security—they are about a burgeoning war between a consortium of merchants, led by Walmart (WMT), and the credit card companies. Rite Aid, CVS, Walmart, Best Buy (BBY), and about 50 other retailers have been working on their own mobile payments system, called CurrentC. Unlike Apple Pay, which works in conjunction with Visa (V), MasterCard (MA), and American Express (AXP), CurrentC cuts out the credit card networks altogether. The benefit to the merchants is clear: They would save the swipe fees they now pay to the credit card companies, which average about 2 percent of the cost of transactions.
CurrentC is also likely to allow merchants to gather data about transactions and offer discounts and loyalty programs. This stands in marked contrast to the anonymity built into Apple Pay, which has drawn concerns even from some merchants that are actively supporting the system.
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook would be happy to have this fight with CurrentC’s backers. When he introduced Apple Pay last month, Cook said mobile payments had failed so far because they were built to serve the business models of their creators, rather than to provide a useful experience for customers. Because Apple’s primary goal is to sell more phones, tablets, and laptops, its system is more straightforward.
Rite Aid and CVS screwed up the optics on this one. It’s hard to argue that you’re doing right by your customers when you stop accepting a form of payment that you’ve already demonstrated presents no technical hurdles. They also don’t have an alternative to offer. CurrentC isn’t expected to be ready until 2015, and the specifics of the system aren’t public.
The irony of this conflict is that Apple, the innovator, is in the position of endorsing the status quo. Walmart and its brick-and-mortar allies, on the other hand, are actively trying to turn the payments industry on its head and challenge the entrenched power of the credit card networks. Apple is happy to help the incumbents make the existing system feel slicker to customers, without touching the underlying economics. In return, American Express, Visa, and MasterCard have been solidly in Apple’s corner.
CurrentC is going to flop, It doesn't add any value to the end user and sounds more convoluted a process. No thanks.
Yes but it saves the stores 2-3% on merchant fees and it takes the power away from the banks and gives it to the merchants, I don't think they're going to give that up easily. I don't expect much success from this boycott, a small short term loss in sales compared to a 2% increase in profits for a long time to come. If I were them I wouldn't fold easily under a boycott.
Yes but it saves the stores 2-3% on merchant fees, I don't think they're going to give that up easily. I don't expect much success from this boycott, a small short term loss in sales compared to a 2% increase in profits for a long time to come. If I were them I wouldn't fold easily under a boycott.
Right but they need to get users on board and they aren't adding any value to get them. These guys are going to end up spending that 2% on engaging users and coercing them onto their platform. In reality they should be negotiating harder against the processors and their fees. The percentage model doesn't make sense as the cost to process the transaction to the card companies is the same regardless of amount. Apparently Walmart and Apple are the only companies that have successfully negotiated fee reductions from processors, but others should be following in their foot steps. I can't believe companies especially fuel companies put up with that business model.
Right but they need to get users on board and they aren't adding any value to get them. These guys are going to end up spending that 2% on engaging users and coercing them onto their platform. In reality they should be negotiating harder against the processors and their fees. The percentage model doesn't make sense as the cost to process the transaction to the card companies is the same regardless of amount. Apparently Walmart and Apple are the only companies that have successfully negotiated fee reductions from processors, but others should be following in their foot steps. I can't believe companies especially fuel companies put up with that business model.
Right that's why they're talking about doing rewards programs or discounts if you pay using Currentc.
I can see cvs requiring CurrentC at some point to get the cvs points. First they'll probably offer $5 credit to switch and maybe offer more points/$ if you use CurrentC but it still makes them money in the long run
Can't tell you how many times I've had to try to get a damn QR code to scan at an airport for boarding passes..
Ohh and at Starbucks too.
This may be good that Apple hasn't opened the nfc to devs yet. They'll prevent dev access to nfc especially for payments so that CurrentC can't add nfc even if they wanted to.
My guess is CurrentC will set you up with another debit account. They will probably suck some set amount out of your checking account when the debit account gets low. No way they are going to rely on your payment clearing the next day like it's some check.
10-24-2014, 01:05 PM
