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Meijer is first MCX member to break ranks, continuing to support Apple Pay

meijer

While CurrentC consortium MCX’s contracts state that members cannot accept competing forms of mobile payment, Midwest grocery chain Meijer appears to be the first member to break ranks by continuing to allow NFC payment – including Apple Pay.

Michigan Live quotes spokesman Frank Guglielmi as saying that the chain’s 213 grocery and gas outlets have no plans to block Apple Pay.

We have had the technology in our stores to accept mobile wallets for several years now. If a customer has Apple Pay capability, our hardware works with it […] We don’t plan to remove or disable these systems.

Meijer is currently shown on both Apple Pay and MCX websites:

both
When Re/code asked MCX for a comment, COO Scott Rankin said:

I think if they want to go forward and continue to accept Apple Pay, down the road at some point if they want to be a customer of MCX and roll out CurrentC and offer it to customers that’s great.

No, we don’t know what that means, either.

MCX yesterday said that it was “entirely possible” that members would be allowed to accept both CurrentC and Apple Pay at some unspecified point in the future, but gave no indication on whether or when this might in fact be the case. A blog post by the company has done little to reassure consumers, especially when followed by the revelation that MCX has already been hacked.

CVS was the first MCX member to disable NFC payments. When Rite Aid joined in, iOS and Android users alike responded by planning to boycott MCX members – a move now supported by a website for identifying suitable competitors. iPhone users have also been hitting back by giving 1-star reviews to the CurrentC app on iTunes.

At this point, we’re almost starting to feel sorry for MCX …

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Comments

  1. Cory © (@Nardes) - 9 years ago

    I just moved south from Ohio, so unfortunately no Meijers down here… Meijers was my jam!

  2. now, all those CVS/Rite Aid Boycotters need to start shopping at Meijer!

  3. 89p13 - 9 years ago

    And the hull has been breached . . . . I expect to see more and more “rats” jumping from this sinking ship!

  4. Jesse (@matrix_prime) - 9 years ago

    Meijer is the one place that I’ve been consistently using Apple Pay since it was released. Glad they haven’t shut it off.

  5. Jonathan (@Jon889) - 9 years ago

    I’m quite surprised Apple hasn’t blocked CurrentC from the App Store. Especially seeing as they don’t allow PCalc to have a Today Widget.

    • aeronperyton - 9 years ago

      To venture a guess, Apple doesn’t feel threatened by it. And Apple already reversed their decision against PCalc – It was simply a mistake that they corrected.

  6. PMZanetti - 9 years ago

    Noticing Gas stations that accept NFC payments at the pump….its a confusing situation here in NJ where we’re not allowed to pump our own gas, and when we pull up, the attendants are sticking their greasy hands through the window to take our credit card….which they swipe and the either A) leave sticking out of the machine or B) POCKET. Yes POCKET. And walk away. Hopefully not accidentally giving your card to someone else.

    Wonder what the future solution will be.

    • Kawaii Gardiner - 9 years ago

      Having swipe terminals on the pumps themselves – they’ve had those in NZ for years for after hours service so that people can prepay their petrol.

      • chrish1961 - 9 years ago

        And that’s completely irrelevant.

      • carmenia83 - 9 years ago

        They have credit card terminals on the pumps in NJ but consumers are not allowed to operate the pumps by law. The attendants take your card and swipe it on the pump.

    • I see an easy solution: repel that law and give people the freedom to get their own gas!

      but if not, isn’t NFC the solution itself? No need to give the attendant anything, you just put your phone near the NFC reader… the reader would need to be corded so it can be close enough… or maybe everybody need to get one of those extendable claw thingy to reach the reader!

      • iSRS - 9 years ago

        I actually thing NJ has gas pumping right. In theory, anyway. The people pumping the gas, should, again in theory, be trained. It is a hazardous chemical that we let any 15+ year old with a license handle. Not exactly a smart idea.

      • boarddworld - 9 years ago

        iSRS: Wow some day we won’t have to teach our children anything. The world will be so sown up in PC regulation it will be decided we can only safely sit on our asses, provided we’re roped in place.

        I remember walking up the street as a 13 year old to get fuel for the lawn mower. Problem this day in age is parenting sucks.

    • 89p13 - 9 years ago

      As a South Jersey person – I always get out of the car and hand them my card as I stand next to the pump. In that way, I’m there to collect my card as soon as it’s been read – as well as to “top off my tank” once the auto nozzle kicks-off. As I’m always buying gas at the same place (BJ’s Warehouse Club) most of the attendants know me and don’t have a problem with me really filling my tank.

      As an aside – BJ’s had their own Visa card – but now they’ve switched over to MasterCard – as long as you pay with the BJ’s MasterCard, the price at the pump drops $0.10 per gallon. Sweet Deal – but the bank behind the new card is listed neither as Apple Pay nor CommerceC.

      For saving ten cents a gallon and getting reward points for every dollar spent – I’m good with letting them swipe my card.

    • James Alexander - 9 years ago

      In Oregon they give you the card right back. They never hold onto it and would never put it in there pocket. YIKES.

    • carmenia83 - 9 years ago

      I’m in NY but NJ and OR have it right. The customers shouldn’t be pumping their own gas. Too many people don’t understand the concept of static electricity and set shit on fire pumping gas. The best solution (imo) would be something like the electronic toll tags many states use. Drive up to the pump and the reader overhead authorizes the tag and the attendant pumps the gas. That should hold us over till everyone’s driving a Tesla and we don’t need gas anymore lol.

      • 89p13 - 9 years ago

        BS – There are so many safeguards in place. About the only people who set things / themselves on fire are drunks / morons who are smoking!

        Darwin Principle at its finest. ;)

      • Statists. Why don’t we stop people from being allowed to use cooking oil in their own homes too. And get rid of those propane tanks. Lets ban the right to have kids until you have a license. Statists gonna State.

      • Fallenjt JT - 9 years ago

        It’s BS. How many accidents happened due to self-service at the pump? Maybe it’s easier to get killed by a bullet dropped from the sky than causing accident at the gas pump. Please.

    • 89p13 - 9 years ago

      And the NJ law was written because the unions pressured the legislators so many years ago. Some things never change it seems!

      Had ABSOLUTELY Nothing to do with safety – it was all Job Protection!

      • Fallenjt JT - 9 years ago

        Yup. Soon residents in these states wouldn’t be allowed to wipe their own asses because they may not know how to handle the toilet paper correctly…LOL.

    • Randy March - 9 years ago

      You’re not allowed to pump your own petrol into your cars? No wait, somebody else pumps it for you?! What is this sorcery?!

      —Somebody from Europe

      • oxfdblue - 9 years ago

        I think New Jersey might be the only state here that does that.

  7. Taste_of_Apple - 9 years ago

    More to follow.

  8. Feel sorry for them?! I won’t shed one tear if MCX and their hacked CurrentC app go away forever.

    What’s interesting is that the Meijer spokesperson pointed out they’ve been operating NFC readers for years and yet MCX didn’t react until Apple Pay came on the scene.

    The fact that MCX didn’t feel the need to disable NFC readers until now is a clear sign that Google Wallet wasn’t viewed as a threat to their business, which says a lot about the strength of Apple’s market message and rate of consumer adoption compared to Google.

    • James Alexander - 9 years ago

      I agree. Google has no control since there OS is scattered and they seem to leave it up to the OEM’s to advertise.

  9. I miss Meijer, I wish they would start expanding west, maybe someday.

    • me too! I have never been to Meijer (don’t think I’ve even seen one) but every time I read about them in the news, they always seem to make the right decisions and be a company that cares… We could use more of those out here!

      • erictheactor - 9 years ago

        I worked there 23 years ago… It’s the best best store out there! It’s probably the place I shot the most. Great company

  10. Eric Lee - 9 years ago

    I wish Fred Myers would accept  pay !!!!!

  11. Jesse Supaman Nichols - 9 years ago

    I’m kind of fan-boy-ing right now. My website was mentioned on 9to5mac! http://boycott-mcx.com

  12. they are scared. now is the time to push MCX merchants to capitulate through their social media pages: http://9to5mac.com/2014/10/30/mcx-apple-pay/

  13. they are scared. now is the time to push MCX merchants to capitulate through their social media pages: antiCurrentC.com

  14. Jesse Supaman Nichols - 9 years ago

    I have just gotten word that Kum & Go is accepting NFC payments as well.

  15. Steve Saxon - 9 years ago

    I used Apple Pay at Home Depot last night, but they’re not listed on Apple’s site. I’m curious why Apple doesn’t include all the places that allow NFC, as that would make the tech look far more pervasive than they’re currently suggesting.

    • Fallenjt JT - 9 years ago

      Home Depot does the right thing. This way they can fck Lowes who is MCX merchant.

    • erictheactor - 9 years ago

      I wondered the same thing, there are a few places that I have used it that has an NFC terminal and it’s worked fine.

  16. hijaszu - 9 years ago

    To be able to provide both, first they need to be able to provide CurrentC. With this speed CurrentC will never come to live :D

  17. jrox16 - 9 years ago

    YES!! Meijer FTW! Just became my new go-to store along with Walgreens!!

  18. jaredporter2014 - 9 years ago

    Kudos to Meijer for coming out with a statement about Apple Pay continuing to be one of their payment options. Please support companies like this that offer the consumers their choice. We paid good money for our iPhone 6 to get this level of fingerprint authentication security. There are about 20 million of us in the US, so act and speak out against Walmart et al who are trying to elbow us out of the way!

    • erictheactor - 9 years ago

      So true! Best buy shut it down and I complained to management and they wished it wasn’t like that… They’d like it to work too.

  19. oxfdblue - 9 years ago

    Question, slightly off topic. I was in a Radio Shack yesterday and saw their credit card terminal had the NFC logo… took my iPhone and the charge went through without a problem but the card terminal still had me sign. Isn’t that last step supposed not happen when using Apple Pay.

    On topic… I wonder if the MCX police are going to come down on Meijer…

  20. james0328 - 9 years ago

    L.O.L.

  21. erictheactor - 9 years ago

    I used to work there when I was 17 (roughly 23 years ago)… And hands down my favorite store to shop at. I have use my Apple pay there about four times in the last week (I know… I shop to much) and it has worked flawless. I have even returned one thing and it works incredible. I will continue to support the store and have avoided the stores that won’t support Apple pay!

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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