MCX Selects Gemalto to Build Its Mobile Wallet

IRVING, Texas -- Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), a company founded by retailers to offer consumers a new mobile payment solution, announced Gemalto will build its mobile wallet.

According to Irving, Texas-based MCX, it selected Gemalto for "its unmatched expertise in mobile financial services and track record of being trusted by leading banks, governments, merchants and mobile operators and their customers all over the world."

The initial MCX mobile wallet will be primarily barcode- and cloud-based and will run on Gemalto's Allynis mobile payment platform. MCX will also leverage Gemalto's mobile wallet software for a smartphone application (app).

"Gemalto's global experience and unparalleled expertise make it the ideal partner to develop a mobile wallet worthy of the stature of merchants backing MCX," said Dodd Roberts, senior executive of MCX. "Our work with them over the past months leaves little doubt that MCX will benefit from their considerable technical expertise."

A large group of convenience store retailers -- including 7-Eleven Inc., Alon Brands, QuikTrip Corp., Sheetz Inc., Wawa Inc., Hy-Vee Inc., Shell Oil Co., Sunoco Inc. and RaceTrac Petroleum Inc. -- signed on as "founding members" of the 1-year-old MCX and will have a say in the company's decision-making process.

Non-c-store-related retailers investing in MCX include Target Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Dunkin' Brands Inc., Sears Holding Corp., Gap Inc. and Darden Restaurants Inc.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands-based Gemalto is a digital security provider with 83 offices and 13 research and development centers located in 43 countries.

"The caliber and scale of the merchant organizations behind MCX creates opportunity to elevate mobile payments," noted Jack Jania, Gemalto's senior vice president. "We are excited that MCX chose our technology to implement and deliver their roadmap toward convenient and secure retail payments on all smartphones."

MCX's official launch date has yet to be announced. Once it goes live, the mobile wallet provider's member companies will operate more than 75,000 stores and process more than $1 trillion in payments annually.