• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Apple

Retailers’ Apple Pay competitor has already been hacked

By
TIME
TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
TIME
TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 29, 2014, 4:43 PM ET
Bloomberg Bloomberg via Getty Images

This post is in partnership with Time. The article below was originally published at Time.com.

By Alex Fitzpatrick, TIME

Apple Pay (AAPL) competitor CurrentC said Wednesday that hackers have gotten their hands on some users’ information, according to a statement from MCX, the service’s developer. The hackers targeted MCX’s e-mail provider, not the CurrentC app itself.

MCX said that the hackers accessed some e-mail addresses of CurrentC pilot program participants and individuals who had expressed interest in using the free digital wallet. MCX, a joint venture created by major U.S. retailers in part as an effort to avoid paying credit card transaction fees, did not disclose how many individuals were affected, but said many of the stolen e-mails addresses were not of actual users.

“Many of these email addresses are dummy accounts used for testing purposes only. The CurrentC app itself was not affected,” Linda Walsh, a spokeswoman for MCX, said in an e-mail. “We have notified our merchant partners about this incident and directly communicated with each of the individuals whose email addresses were involved.”

The hack targeting CurrentC, which is set for release next year, comes on the heels of news that retail giants CVS (CVS) and Rite Aid (RAD) —two members of MCX—will not accept Apple Pay despite at first allowing the service. A leaked in-house memo indicated that the reason may be the two companies’ involvement with CurrentC. Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the situation amounted to a “skirmish.”

News of CurrentC’s vulnerability also adds to the less-than-warm reviews of the mobile payment service, which some reviewers say was designed more for the benefit of retailers than for customers. It also boosts the reputation of its competitor Apple Pay, which has championed its customer data security. Apple Pay users registered one million cards on the service in its first three days, Cook said earlier this week.

About the Author
By TIME
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Personal FinanceGold
How to sell gold and silver: Tax implications and what you should know
By Joseph HostetlerMarch 25, 2026
4 minutes ago
iran
Middle EastMiddle East
‘We do not plan on any negotiations’: Iran laughs at White House’s claims of cease-fire talks
By Jon Gambrell, Mike Corder, Munir Ahmed, Aamer Madhani and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
7 minutes ago
bernie
AICongress
Bernie Sanders and AOC launch bill to ban new data-center construction
By Matthew Daly and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
21 minutes ago
emily
PoliticsElections
Meet the 40-year-old Democrat who owns a fitness company for pregnant and postpartum women and just won in Trump’s district
By Bill Barrow, Mike Schneider and The Associated PressMarch 25, 2026
26 minutes ago
Big TechSocial Media
A court just ruled that tech addiction is real—and dangerous. It could be Meta and YouTube’s Big Tobacco moment
By Kristin StollerMarch 25, 2026
55 minutes ago
C-SuiteFood and drink
‘I didn’t want anybody shooting me’: Five Guys CEO gave away $1.5 million bonus to employees over botched BOGO burger birthday celebration
By Catherina GioinoMarch 25, 2026
1 hour ago

Most Popular

Magazine
The youngest-ever female CEO of a Fortune 500 company is fighting Trump's cuts to keep Medicaid strong
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
2 days ago
Commentary
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
2 days ago
Success
Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers — ‘or you’re neurodivergent’
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago
Energy
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman calls it 'treason': $580 million in suspicious oil futures traded minutes before Trump's Iran reversal
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago
Success
The job market is so bad that ‘reverse recruiters’ are charging $1,500 a month just to help people look for jobs
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
13 hours ago
Success
JPMorgan has started monitoring the keystrokes, video calls, and meetings of its junior investment bankers—and they say it's for employee well-being
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.