Apple Pay rival says it's misunderstood

LOS ANGELES - The folks behind a new way for consumers to pay with smartphones at big box retail stores had a bad week last week.

But to hear them out, they insist, they've been misunderstood and are onto something that could be a winner with businesses and consumers.

Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) is a consortium of retailers (led by Walmart, Target, CVS, Best Buy and others) that has an alternative to the greatly hyped Apple Pay system that launched Oct. 20.

The alternative, called CurrentC, is sold as doing more than just payment, but also tying into retailer loyalty programs and coupons with the purchase. To use it also means consumers who love getting airline miles from their credit cards won't be able to participate, as the app is designed to work with merchant private label cards and bank accounts.

It's also looking at a broader market than Apple Pay, which only works with the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models. CurrentC will work with any Apple or Android smartphone, the company says.

Scott Rankin, the chief operating officer for MCX, called USA TODAYover the weekend to clear up some misnomers.

• Privacy. When consumers sign up for CurrentC when it launches nationally, they won't need to give out their Social Security number and driver's license ID, he says. That was for the pilot test, currently under way with an undisclosed bank.

"We do not expect to have those requirements when we launch," he says.

• Airline Miles: Customers who shop for big-screen TVs at Best Buy, lawn furniture at Walmart, new clothes at Target and prescriptions at CVS and Rite-Aid generally do not shop with cards issued by the big 3 – Visa, MasterCard and American Express, he says. Some 75% of all purchases at the 50 MCX merchants are done via cash, debit cards, gift and store issued private label credit cards. "We believe paying through checking will not be the most prevalent way to pay."

By using the CurrentC app, consumers can speed up the checkout process, because they will bypass fishing for coupons to present to the clerk, as they will be included within the app, Rankin says.

• QR codes: They have been described as "clunky," when compared to NFC, which just relies on a swipe. Here's how Rankin describes the checkout process with CurrentC.

After the sale is rung up, and you say you want to pay via mobile, "You pull out the phone, open the app, click pay and a QR code is displayed. She scans it, and you're done. It's like when the QR code is sent to you by the airline and you use it for your boarding pass. It's frictionless."

• Exclusivity: When CVS and Rite-Aid removed the pin pads – which were put in place for Google's Wallet mobile pay system – reporters looked into the exclusivity terms of the MCX arrangements with its partners.

"When merchants join us, they have a choice," says Rankin. "They can't have Apple Pay or Google Wallet until their exclusivity expires." He wouldn't say how long the term lasts, but says "it's closer to months than years." One chain, Michigan based Meijer, has defied the terms, and is offering both Apple Pay and Google Wallet now, and plans to have MCX as well.

"They have a choice to make," says Rankin.

It's also been reported that merchants who try MCX but choose to leave before the contract expires will have to pay "fines" to the company to get out. Rankin says that's "complete and utter bull----."

This week MCX execs will be in Las Vegas, pressing their case for why they believe the CurrentC app deserves -- a trial with consumers at the Money Money 20/20 conference.

"We just want to tell our story," he says. "We're so excited."

There was no response to emails sent Sunday requesting comment on MCX sent to Google and Apple.

A Big Retail vs. Apple feud began in late October when two of the retailers in the consortium, CVS and Rite-Aid, disabled pin pads at cash registers when they discovered customers were using them with Apple Pay.

MCX's rules require that its pin pads be used exclusively for its system as an alternative to swiping credit cards.

In the days that followed the drug chains action, MCX said its e-mail system had been hacked and was working to prevent that from happening again.

Follow Jefferson Graham on Twitter