Target (NYSE: TGT) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) are sick of letting firms like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) make money on customers who use mobile devices to make retail purchases. Among other things, affinity card traffic drops. Less charges on that Wal-Mart credit card.
The two largest big box retailers have joined with smaller rivals to set their own mobile payment systems, according to The Wall Street Journal
The push represents an effort by frustrated merchants to get the upper hand in the fast-developing market that turns cellphones into payment devices. The race pits the retailers against banks, credit-card networks, telecommunications firms and technology companies.
The retailers have an advantage. They can set up new payment systems. Wireless companies and Google cannot open thousands of stores to leverage customer behavior.