JP Morgan Chase announced its own smartphone payment platform on Tuesday, called Chase Pay. The platform, due to make its debut mid-2016, will be a direct competitor to the likes of Apple, Google and Samsung.
Chase Pay is built upon the Current C, a retailer-led mobile payment system that has largely been written off by Silicon Valley techies for its reliance on barcodes rather than the more sophisticated NFC (near-field communications) technology adopted by its competitors.
"Chase customers will be able to use Chase Pay wherever CurrentC is accepted -- either directly, or through the CurrentC app. Chase is also partnering with 17 technology vendors so that merchants who are not Chase Commerce Solutions clients can also participate in Chase Pay", it says.
Chase Pay works by displaying a barcode on the customer’s smartphone. The retailer then scans the barcode and completes the payment. There’s also a version that works online.
Chase Pay uses somewhat simpler solution (unlike its competitors going for the near-field communication (NFC) technology), which means it will be available to a much wider array of devices. The Chase Pay platform will roll out to Chase’s 94-million credit, debit and pre-paid card account holders, and will also tie-in with retailer loyalty cards.
"Our partnership links Chase and its customer base with CurrentC’s extensive network of leading retailers, restaurants, grocery stores and fueling stations, which process over a trillion dollars in transactions annually at more than 100,000 U.S. locations. This is a significant milestone, not just for MCX and Chase, but for mobile payments overall as the industry continues to take shape. Everywhere CurrentC is accepted, Chase Pay will be accepted", said Brian Mooney, CEO of MCX.