COPPELL, Texas The Merchant Customer Exchange, a fledgling mobile payments system being developed by retail giants fighting Visa and MasterCard, named longtime cards veteran Dekkers Davidson, managing director at Barclaycard US, as its first CEO.
Davidson takes the helm as the new system gains momentum, with recent technology contracts with FIS and Gemalto and the addition of several major retail brands. FIS, with connections to more than 14,000 credit unions, banks, retailers and third-party processors in more than 100 countries, was hired last month to power the payments network, known as MCX.
The network is being capitalized by participating retailers, including Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, Best Buy, Shell, Gap, CVS and 7-Eleven, which all have been fighting Visa and MasterCard for years over interchange fees charged on credit and debit card transactions.
Also involved are Bed Bath & Beyond, Brinker International, Circle K, Darden Restaurants, DICK’s Sporting Goods, Dillard’s, Dunkin’ Brands, HMSHost, Hobby Lobby Stores, Hy-Vee, Lowe’s, Meijer, Michaels Stores, Pacific Convenience & Fuels LLC, Phillips 66, Publix Super Markets, QuikTrip, RaceTrac, Sears, Sheetz, Shell Oil, Southwest Airlines, Sunoco, Wakefern Food and Wawa.
At Barclaycard, Davidson launched the first cloud-based mobile commerce wallet in the U.S. specifically designed to be merchant friendly, creating deals and partnerships with more than 50 retailers, along with card issuers, processors, and technology partners.
Previously, Davidson led management consultancy Oliver Wyman’s U.S. mobile practice, and he managed investing activity in the mobile sector for Fidelity Ventures. Davidson also held chief executive roles at c3, a multicarrier online mobile retailer of mobile devices and services, and Cetacean Networks, a data-networking startup backed by venture-capital firms Charles River and Prism Ventures. During the mid to late 1990s, he led Sprint PCS’ start-up mobile operation in the New England area, and was regional president of Rogers Cantel, helping drive the turnaround of Canada’s largest mobile operator.
