Another bank-driven mobile wallet arrived this week, and it’s good news for MCX.
After being repeatedly teased on earnings calls and in investor meetings by CEO Jamie Dimon, Chase Pay, the mobile payments service from the nation’s largest bank, was finally announced Monday at Money20/20 by Gordon Smith, CEO of consumer & community banking. JPMorgan Chase joins Capital One in introducing mobile payments into a bank app.
Though long-expected, there were some surprises with the implementation. One is that Chase Pay won’t launch until mid-2016. Chase’s mobile app was last updated for iOS on Oct. 1 and Android on Sept. 16. Unusually for a bank app, the app has received stellar ratings — an average of five stars out of five for the current version on iOS, and four stars for all versions. On Google Play the Chase app received 4.3 stars out of five. Citi’s most recent app update, by comparison, received 2.5 stars on iOS and 3.8 on Google Play. These scores were retrieved around noon Eastern time.
Another surprise is that Chase Pay leverages CurrentC, the ACH-based payment method of MCX, the merchant-run mobile wallet recently thought to be near-death. Chase Pay has swiftly put a stop to that kind of talk. The app operates by scanning QR codes and barcodes with the mobile phone camera. The CurrentC dynamic aligns it with the merchants and against the card networks, where Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay (“the Pays”) sit. MCX has partnered with Paydiant, which leverages FIS technology in to tokenize transactions. This positions Chase to more easily tap loyalty and rewards and leverage retail brands — Chase Paymentech took over Starbucks payment processing from Square just last week.
Another possible benefit, and the Holy Grail of mobile wallets and PFM providers, is something merchants have jealously guarded but may share with MCX — SKU-level data. Getting that data would take Chase’s mobile app’s advice and offers to a new level.
Learn more about mobile payments at Bank Innovation Israel, Nov, 10-11 in Tel Aviv. Request your invitation here.