Apple Pay rival CurrentC is gearing up for use in stores by consumers.
The app — which was created by Merchant Customer Exchange and has funding from Wal-Mart (WMT), Target (TGT), and Best Buy (BBY) — is getting a limited trial run in stores next month, according to Bloomberg. It’s expected to be used in larger public tests later this year, the report said.
Merchant Customer Exchange is expected to introduce the app during the third quarter, Bloomberg said.
The app has fierce competition, though, with electronic payment systems from Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) already available to shoppers.
As the report notes, there are security and other issues involved as CurrentC goes public. For instance, the app was hacked last year during testing, which might make potential users wary of its safety. And Bloomberg notes that CurrentC has not signed deals with credit-card companies.
“We expect there to be more than one successful player in mobile payments, and we expect to be one of them,” Scott Rankin, Merchant Customer Exchange’s COO, told Bloomberg.