6 Milestones in Chase Pay's development

June 10, 2016 10:24 AM

JPMorgan Chase has yet to launch its Chase Pay wallet app, but it's lining up some formidable allies. The wallet's underlying technology was years in the making, giving Chase an edge in winning merchant partners while tapping into a sizable consumer base.

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Shell

The recently announced deal with Shell demonstrates how Chase has begun filling a void left by the MCX CurrentC mobile wallet, which had the support of numerous large merchants. Shell was previously signed on to support CurrentC, which shuts down at the end of June after a yearlong pilot.

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F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg

Starbucks

Starbucks has been aggressive with its mobile wallet strategy, but selective with its partnerships. That makes its pact with Chase Pay all the more relevant, since it gives Chase access to an audience that is extremely enthusiastic about mobile payments.

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Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

MCX

The Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) is linking its network of retailers to Chase Pay, giving the mobile wallet access to more than 100,000 U.S. locations and the merchants lower transaction fees. At the time of the October announcement, MCX had not yet announced the sunset of its CurrentC wallet, suggesting that Chase Pay and CurrentC might have been meant to coexist.

Trey Clark

ChaseNet

ChasePay is built on ChaseNet, which the bank describes as a closed-loop payment system because it owns the consumer and merchant relationships. "It is a simplification of an ecosystem. It takes a traditional five-party acquiring system and takes it down to three," said Kimberly Fitzsimmons, U.S. market president for Chase Merchant Services (pictured).

A Visa credit card sign is displayed in a store window in Des Plaines, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2008. Visa Inc., the worlds largest electronic payments network, will report earnings on Feb. 4. Photographer: Tim Boyle/Bloomberg News

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Visa

ChaseNet has its roots in a 10-year partnership that Chase and Visa began in 2013. The pact's goal was to enable Chase to build a direct relationship with the merchant, giving the bank control of pricing.

A customer uses a JPMorgan Chase & Co. bank ATM location in San Diego, California, U.S., on Wednesday, July 8, 2015. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is scheduled to announce quarterly earnings results on July 14. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

Card Counting

Chase Pay is tied to the issuer's 94 million credit, debit and prepaid card accounts, representing half of U.S. households. Depending on the perspective, this means Chase's wallet either starts with or excludes half of the market. It's a risky strategy, given that closed-loop wallets have not fared well in the past.