Apple share price down, new challenger of Apple Pay set to appear

Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook said reports of retailers not accepting Apple Pay are not of much concern, as the new technology has already become the largest mobile payment service.

Mr. Cook said that there were reports of customers using Apples settling system in CVS Health Corp. and Rite Aid Corp.s stores, although neither of the drugstore chains had officially accepted the iPhone makers network. Later, without a clear reason, both retailers disabled that option.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Best Buy Co. who also havent joined Apple Pay, are a part of a mobile technology group called Merchant Customer Exchange. Including CVS and Rite Aid, the group plans to launch its own payment software that will work on both iOS and Android. The project named CurrentC is still under development, but is expected to be released nationally next year.

The idea behind CurrentC is to allow retailers to offer branded mobile wallets connected directly to customers bank accounts.

Bryan Yeager, an analyst at EMarketer Inc., said that merchants want more control over the experience. “Whether it be through the data they collect or the marketing and promotions they’re able to deliver based on that data, they want as much control as possible, and they’d rather not work with Apple on something like that.”

MCX groups new software is an attempt to help retailers retain information needed for their customer-reward programs and evade transaction fees pushed onto them from companies, like Apple, which have created their own payment service and are keeping transaction data anonymous.

According to Forrester Research Inc., the mobile-payments market is expected to increase to $90 billion in 2017, compared to $12.8 billion back in 2012.

Mr. Cook expressed confidence in Apple Pay and said that more than one million credit-cards were activated within the first 72 hours of its launch, citing Visa and Mastercard information. Since its release on October 20, Apple Pay has recruited more that 220 000 stores across the US.

“Youre only relevant as a retailer or merchant if your customers love you” he said. “Its the first and only mobile payment system thats easy, private and secure.”

Apple has a history of keeping user data private. Recently the company was under law enforcement criticism about its decision to encrypt data on its iPhones, when they are locked.

“I look at that and say if law enforcement wants something, they should go to the user and get it. Its not for me to do it.” Mr. Cook said.

Apple Inc. lost 0.10% on Monday and closed at $105.11 on the NASDAQ, marking a one-year increase of 39.89%. The company is valued at $616.59 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 43 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Apple Inc. have a median target of $115.00, with a high estimate of $143.00 and a low estimate of $60.00. The median estimate represents a 9.41% increase from the last price of $105.11.