More retailers, including the world's largest publicly-traded oil and gas company, ExxonMobil, have signed up to the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the retail-led coalition that is bidding to build a stake in the US consumer mobile payments market.
ExxonMobil joins convenience stores Giant Eagle, Kum & Go and Rite Aid as the latest members of MCX, expanding the group's 50-strong merchant roster to more than 100,000 locations processing in excess of $1 trillion annually.
"Mobile payments will dramatically enhance the buying experience of our customers," says John Rhodes, Americas retail director at ExxonMobil. "We look forward to helping make the simplicity and security of mobile payments a reality for customers throughout the country."
Founded in 2012, MCX is battling with banks and telcos to gain a foothold in the emerging market for mobile payments at the point-of-sale. Backed by leading merchants, including Kmart, Olive Garden and Southwest Airlines, MCX has hired Barclaycard's Dekkers Davidson as CEO and signed deals with tech partners FIS and Gemalto to create a mobile wallet that will be primarily bar code- and cloud-based.