Chase, MCX Team Develop Retailer-Friendly Mobile Wallet

A huge benefit for merchants will be the mobile wallet’s no network and no merchant-acquiring fees.

October 28, 2015

NEW YORK CITY – Banks and retailers have been at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to payment card fees, with merchants generally bearing the brunt of the fees. However, JP Morgan Chase has made a game changing move: a mobile wallet that doesn’t require excessive fees from merchants, Payments Source reports.

“There’s no network fees, no merchant-acquiring fees, we will not charge them back for fraud once we’ve approved a transaction, and we will also give them the opportunity to drive down further their cost of acceptance based on how much volume they do with Chase,” said Gordon Smith, who leads JPMorgan Chase’s consumer bank.

The mobile wallet is scheduled to launch in the middle of next year. Chase will tie the mobile wallet to its credit, debit and prepaid card accounts, which number 94 million. Chase has announced that retailers will have “fixed pricing” to accept its mobile wallet payments but has yet to release details.

Partnering with Chase on the venture is MCX, a group of the nation’s largest retailers, including Target and Walmart. MCX has been developing its own mobile wallet (CurrentC) but it hasn’t made it out of the pilot phase yet.

Chase Pay will roll the retailer’s own loyalty program into the payment event. “This is a significant milestone, not just for MCX and Chase, but for mobile payments overall as the industry continues to take shape,” said Brian Mooney, CEO of MCX. “Everywhere CurrentC is accepted, Chase Pay will be accepted.”

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