NFC Times Exclusive: The U.S. MCX merchant consortium will introduce its own mobile-commerce app, as well as making much of the same functionality available in individual apps from its members–including a proprietary mobile-payments service based on QR codes.
The details have emerged during recent appearances by representatives of the merchant group, which includes such large U.S. chains as Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and Gap Inc. But MCX still declines to release many specifics, including exactly when it plans to launch its first pilot and what it will call its core MCX app.
MCX, which boasts that its members have a combined 700 million proprietary “payment loyalty” accounts and 90,000 locations in the U.S., plans to use a core mobile-payments platform, enabling consumers to make purchases within the individual store app or in the MCX app. As already disclosed, MCX merchants will use QR code technology at launch, though are open to other technologies later.
