Can Apple really win the mobile wallet war? - CNBC

Last week it looked like Apple Pay's biggest competitor in mobile payments might be the retailers themselves.

A group of retailers called the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) is developing its own mobile wallet called CurrentC, which it plans to launch sometime next year. Last week some members of MCX, including CVS and Rite-Aid, began disabling support for Apple Pay at their stores, likely because merchants who choose to work with MCX are required to do so exclusively.

But the tides shifted when MCX announced on Wednesday that CurrentC, which is currently in beta, had been breached and some users' emails had been stolen by an unauthorized third party.

Read MoreApple Pay competitor CurrentC says customer email addresses were hacked

"What happened with CurrentC is incredibly unfortunate for them. There was already some backlash because some retailers turned off support for Apple Pay, but the breach, even though it was just emails, will set it back," Haro said.

Read More Wal-Mart and allies face off with Apple Pay over mobile payments

"In the world of payments, it's a pretty big blow because it sends a message about CurrentC's security," he said.

But Apple's competition doesn't end with CurrentC. Tech companies like Google and PayPal, who already have mobile wallets on the market, are ramping up their efforts in the space. Google is even reportedly launching an ad campaign this quarter for Google Wallet.

While marketing may have some sway on consumers, people will likely choose a mobile wallet based on what mobile ecosystem they are already most familiar with, said Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

"It depends on what kind of customer you are. If you are already an Apple user, then this is a no-brainer; you will use Apple Pay," Milanesi said. "But if you are in the Android world, first you would need to jump ship with the OS to use Apple Pay, and that's a big step."

One of Apple Pay's limitations is that it is only available to iPhone 6 users for in-store purchases, whereas Google Wallet and other mobile payment apps are available on both iOS and Android.

But even though this may give competitors some advantage, Apple Pay still has a few things on its competitors that are giving it a clear lead.

via apple - Google News http://ift.tt/1Gii0L1