Since the launch of Android Pay, retail giant Walmart has refused to accept the mobile payment option, saying instead that it only matters that consumers have a payment option that is widely accepted. Today, however, Walmart has announced its own mobile payment solution called Walmart Pay that is compatible with both iOS and Android.
Walmart Pay will exist inside Walmart’s existing mobile application, which the company says has more than 22 million active monthly users. Much like the recently announced Chase Pay service, Walmart Pay is based on QR codes, not the tap-and-pay NFC technology like Android Pay.
To use Walmart Pay, you have to be in a Walmart checkout lane. Then, open up the Walmart app on your phone, choose the Walmart Pay option, scan then QR code displayed on the checkout terminal, and wait for the employee to finish scanning your items. It’s a cumbersome process compared the simplicity of Apple Pay.
”The Walmart app was built to make shopping faster and easier,” said Neil Ashe, president and CEO of Walmart Global eCommerce. “Walmart Pay is the latest example – and a powerful addition – of how we are transforming the shopping experience by seamlessly connecting online, mobile and stores for the 140 million customers who shop with us weekly.”
Walmart has long supported the MCX coalition of retailers, but the MCX app CurrentC has yet to become readily available, leading many companies to abandon the platform in favor of their own solutions or Apple Pay. Regarding its commitment to MCX, Walmart senior vice president of services Daniel Eckert said the company is still very much committed to the platform, but noted that CurrentC and Walmart Pay are really different solutions.
This late in the game it’s a weird move on Walmart’s part to launch its own Walmart Pay solution instead of accepting Apple Pay and Android Pay. For the longest time, Walmart has argued that its reasoning for not supporting Apple Pay and Android Pay is to create a more centralized solution to mobile payments, but instead of doing that, it created yet another service and another app for users to worry about using when checking out.
The full press release for Walmart Pay is below:
Walmart Introduces Walmart Pay
Pay with any iOS or Android smartphone, any major payment type and at any checkout lane –
all through the Walmart app
Bentonville, Ark., Dec. 10, 2015 – Walmart knows customers want to save not just money, but also time. Today, the retailer introduced Walmart Pay – a fast, easy and secure way for customers to pay with their smartphones in Walmart stores.
Built with the goal of improving how customers check out and dramatically expanding mobile payment access, Walmart Pay is like no other mobile payments solution available today. With this launch, Walmart becomes the only retailer to offer its own payment solution that works with any iOS or Android device*, at any checkout lane, and with any major credit, debit, pre-paid or Walmart gift card – all through the Walmart mobile app. The mobile payment feature will be introduced in select stores beginning this month, with a nationwide launch to be complete by the first half of next year.
”The Walmart app was built to make shopping faster and easier,” said Neil Ashe, president and CEO of Walmart Global eCommerce. “Walmart Pay is the latest example – and a powerful addition – of how we are transforming the shopping experience by seamlessly connecting online, mobile and stores for the 140 million customers who shop with us weekly.”
Twenty two million customers actively use the Walmart app each month and it ranks among the top three retail apps in the Google and Apple app stores. The Walmart app enhances the shopping experience in Walmart stores with features including checking in to pick up an online order at a Walmart store, refilling pharmacy prescriptions and finding an item’s store location.
Open, Scan, Done – It’s That Easy
Checkout using Walmart Pay happens in three easy steps:
- Open: Visit any register, open the Walmart app and choose Walmart Pay. Activate the camera.
- Scan: At any time during checkout,simply scan the code displayed at the register. Walmart Pay is now connected.
- Done: Associate scans and bags the items… and it’s done. An eReceipt will be sent to the app and can be viewed at any time.
“The simplicity and ease of Walmart Pay comes not only from how it works, but also in how it’s been built,” said Daniel Eckert, senior vice president, services, Walmart U.S. “We made a strategic decision to design Walmart Pay to work with almost any smartphone and accept almost any payment type – even allowing for the integration of other mobile wallets in the future. The result is an innovation that will make the ease of mobile payments a reality for millions of Americans.”
To learn more about Walmart Pay, please visit news.walmart.com.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, we serve nearly 260 million customers who visit our 11,504 stores under 65 banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2015 revenue of $486 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.
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