CurrentC exposed; the battle continues

Some bad news for CurrentC this week, as their systems were hacked and the email addresses of their early adapters who are currently testing the system were obtained by the hackers. Luckily, no credit card or purchase information was taken - however, it still doesn't bode well for a technology that hasn't yet launched.

The debate continues regarding whether CurrentC or Apple Pay will come out ahead in this battle of the payment acceptance merchants. Apple has maintained a focus on security and privacy with it's system, while CurrentC is more appealing to merchants. In bypassing the credit card merchants and taking payments directly, CurrentC merchants are able to avoid the usual 2 - 3% processing fee that is charged by Visa and Mastercard (and other payment processors).

CurrentC is also keeping the merchants happy by providing them with your transaction information - such as what you bought. Many of the retailers that have supported CurrentC have customer loyalty programs in place - which track what you buy and provide you with special offers based on your purchase history. Both CVS and Rite Aid - which have turned off their ability in stores to accept Apple Pay - have these types of programs in place. My guess is that the CurrentC platform would eliminate the need for shopper's cards to be used in addition to your payment card - and make the transaction seamless.

Sounds like a great concept - but the affects of this could be far-reaching. In a world where big data has become so popular, CurrentC could theoretically aggregate this data across merchants - and get a picture of everything that you buy. Consumers already have privacy concerns related to these loyalty programs, and expanding the reach of these programs may benefit merchants; but this may also alienate consumers even more.

Many of the merchants participating in the CurrentC program were also hacked themselves this year. While the platform may be available to more consumers - those consumers may be much more wary about using it based on privacy and security concerns.