BOSTON & CUPERTINO, Calif. -- As the Apple Pay mobile wallet service rolled out at more than 220,000 stores earlier this month, retailers such as Walmart, Best Buy and 7-Eleven were among those that were noticeably absent from Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple's list of big-name partners, reported ABC News.
The retailers are part of a joint venture called the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), which announced last month it is working on CurrentC, a mobile payments solution that retailers are testing. The Boston-based company expects to roll out the wallet service to 110,000 stores in 2015.
Meanwhile, CVS and Rite Aid, which have the near-field communication (NFC) readers that support Apple Pay, have taken measures to disable or alter the readers so that consumers cannot use Apple Pay, the report said, or Google Wallet. Both retailers are part of MCX.
A spokesperson for Rite Aid told ABC News that the company is "continually evaluating various forms of mobile payment technologies" and is "committed to offering convenient, reliable and secure payment methods that meet the needs of our customers."
CVS "cannot accept Apple Pay or other mobile payments that use NFC technology," a spokesperson told ABC News. "We are in the process of evaluating mobile payment options for our customers."
CVS and Rite Aid drew headlines when they shut off the near-field communication terminals in their stores, preventing the use of both Apple Pay and Google Wallet at registers. Meanwhile, Walgreens still supports Apple's one-touch payments system.
"Merchants have different objectives sometimes," Apple CEO Tim Cook said at a tech conference, according to a report by Tech Times. "But in the long arc of time, you only are relevant as a retailer or a merchant if your customers love you."
And in a statement to Business Insider, an Apple spokesperson responded to the stores deactivating Apple Pay, saying, "The feedback we are getting from customers and retailers about Apple Pay is overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic. We are working to get as many merchants as possible to support this convenient, secure and private payment option for consumers. Many retailers have already seen the benefits and are delighting their customers at over 220,000 locations."
While CurrentC may position itself as an Apple Pay competitor, the two services share little in common beyond the promise of being able to make a transaction in a single motion, said the ABC News report.
With Apple Pay, consumers must own an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus to check out at brick-and-mortars stores. Those stores must also be equipped with NFC readers--something many already had.
CurrentC will use QR codes generated from an app that customers can at checkout, it said.
Click here to view the full ABC News report, click here to view the full Tech Times report and click here to view the full Business Insider report.
Meanwhile, Chevron and Texaco gas stations are accepting Apple Pay at more than 3,000 gas stations and convenience stores, Chevron USA Inc. has announced. More than 8,200 Walgreens and Duane Reade drug stores are accepting it, Walgreens also has announced.
In the convenience store and gas station channel, MCX merchants include 76, 7-Eleven, Alon, Circle K, Conoco, ExxonMobil, GetGo, Kum & Go, My Goods Market, Phillips 66, QuikTrip, RaceTrac, Sheetz, Shell, Sunoco and Wawa.
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