[NewsPoster]

The merchant-backed CurrentC mobile payments platform looks to be all but dead after the company officially ended its beta testing program, reports Consumerist. The latest move follows the layoff of 30 staff that accompanied a statement by the CEO of Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) that the company is now in the process of restructuring to focus on working directly with financial institutions. As a consequence of the changes, its mobile payments platform for customers has been delayed indefinitely. The latest news suggests that it may have reached the endgame for its alternative to Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay.

The Consumerist reports that an email titled "An Important Message from CurrentC," has been circulated to all beta program testers announcing not only the end of trial on June 28, but an end to further releases of the app as well as the closure of all user accounts. CurrentC claims that it plans to analyze the data in the short term, but does not offer any roadmap for the future of the payments system moving forward. The CurrentC ecosystem was supposed to be launched nationwide last year, while significant traction has been made in the space by Apple in particular, making it even harder to see how the payment solution, at least in its current form, has a future.

"Utilizing unique feedback from the marketplace and our Columbus pilot, MCX has made a decision to concentrate more heavily in the immediate term on other aspects of our business including working with financial institutions, like our partnership with Chase, to enable and scale mobile payment solutions," MCX CEO Brian Mooney said in a statement last month. In trying to put a brave face on the situation, Mooney added, "… the mobile payments space is just beginning to take shape -- it is early in a long game."

With customers panning the CurrentC solution as being clunky and beta testers suffering a data hack, the platform's method of processing payments and transactions hasn't been able to match either the ease of use of Apple Pay, or its security features either. With of its major backers, Walmart, forging ahead with its own payments solution, along with the PayPal acquisition of Paydiant, the core technology underpinning the platforms stripped from it, it would be tempting to write an obituary for the concept.

[Long Time Lurker]

Does this mean we'll finally be able to use ApplePay (& others) at CVS?

[DiabloConQueso]

In other words, "We were fools to go up against Apple Pay at that particular time, we completely misjudged the landscape and business opportunity, and we were blinded by our own stupid emotions which prevented us from taking any kind of an objective look at our own product."

[coffeetime]

Wow. Walmart. It's like "Hi, new girlfriend" and "we broke up the next day". I mean using QR code for payment? How ancient is that?

[Steve Wilkinson]

Good to see this. It was just a very poorly thought through (or, I suppose one could say, nefariously thought through from a user perspective) plan from the start.

[Stuke]

Yep, just what I wanted as a consumer. Create online account using my SSN, bank account information, blood type, children's names, hair color, just so I don't have to reach into my pocket for a credit card and learn how to insert it chip-end-first rather than swipe it. Oh, I think I'll go with, um, Apple Pay.

[pairof9s]

The arrogance of Walmart is beyond me...rather than migrate to the obvious "winners" in this fight (Apple Pay, Google Wallet, etc), they choose once again to market the "Walmart" brand as a solution. Like their movie, music, financing, and even online store ventures, this new WallyPay will be a failure.

Know your market, Walmart...people looking to spend the least amount of money possible regardless of quality, value, or benefits. Anything else is NOT what your consumers are remotely interested in!