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Retail skirmish blocks Apple Pay at checkout line

NEW YORK (AP) -- Plan on paying in stores with your shiny new iPhone 6? Not so fast.Retailer resistance to Apple Pay had been expected because Apple hasn't offered incentives to install pricey point-of-sale terminals and train staff on its new mobile payment system. But the decision to not accept Apple Pay by retailers that already have contactless terminals in the checkout line is a \skirmish\ rooted in competition.Big merchants like McDonald's, Macy's and Foot Locker are all accepting Apple Pay. But a consortium of retailers called Merchant Customer Exchange plans to offer a rival mobile payment system next year which could direct debit customers' checking accounts, instead of using a credit card. It also will be designed to track customer buying patterns to be able to offer targeted promotions. In the meantime, some of the group's biggest members, like CVS, 7-Eleven, Best Buy and Wal-Mart, are nixing so-called NFC payments even though they already have the point-of-sale technology in stores. Other retailers that aren't part of MCX, like Starbucks and Taco Bell, are opting to develop their own mobile payment services, and so aren't taking Apple Pay either. Queries into Merchant Customer Exchange were not returned.\Retailers (that are part of Merchant Customer Exchange) are certainly going to give it a go on their own