MCX, the creator of mobile payment platform CurrentC, has sent an email to those who signed up for the service or downloaded its pilot programme – saying it has been hacked.

“Within the last 36 hours, we learned that unauthorised third parties obtained the e-mail addresses of some of our CurrentC pilot programme participants and individuals who had expressed interest in the app. The CurrentC app itself was not affected,” it said in its email.

MCX has said that no other information was taken but it is further investigating the matter.

CurrentC hopes to challenge Apple Pay but this new turn of events may deter people from downloading it. At the moment the app does not support traditional credit card accounts, which Apple Pay does, because it wants to cut down on transaction fees and instead users link their bank accounts with the service.

CurrentC also asks users for social security numbers and driver’s licence details.

MCX is a consortium created by retail giants such as Walmart and Best Buy, both of which have stopped accepting Apple Pay in their stores, as have two other members of MCX, CVS and Rite Aid.