Ever since Apple jumped head first into the mobile payment market with Apple Pay, everyone and their dog has followed suit. Other mobile pay competitors had already been in the market for sometime, but their services never quite took off (like Google Wallet). Even Google changed their payment system to Android Pay. Whether you love it or hate it, it took Apple entering the market to "legitimize" mobile payments.
The latest entrant could actually give all of them a run for their money (at least in a particular niche). Walmart has thrown their hat in the ring by announcing Walmart Pay. This new service will be built into the Walmart app for both iOS and Android. It will roll out in select Walmart stores in the U.S. later this month, and then get a nationwide rollout during the first half of 2016.
What sets Walmart Pay apart (for now) is the way it processes the transaction and emails you the receipt. Here's a brief quote with the details,
"With Walmart Pay, you open an app on your phone and scan a barcode on the register screen at checkout. That sends a signal to the register you will pay via the app and allows the backend system to send you an itemized receipt of your purchases to the smartphone. It also means payment is handled seamlessly by whatever credit or debit card you’ve linked to the app. The implementation is a bit clunkier in that you have to trigger the app and complete a scan. But the receipt functionality isn’t yet available from Apple and is a nice addition." ~ Forbes
The other thing worth noting about Walmart pay is that it supports any major credit, debit, pre-paid or Walmart gift card. On top of this new mobile payment system, Walmart is one of a handful of retailers who have refused to support Apple Pay. Walmart is actually taking the lead on a standardized-for-retail mobile payment setup called the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) consortium. MCX is trying to get the entire retail industry to standardize under something called CurrentC.
What's very odd about Walmart's new Walmart Pay system is that it basically flies in the face of their own MCX initiative. Walmart even used some of the technology in the MCX system to create Walmart Pay. Could they be simply throwing in the towel on a standardized system? It's strange to ponder what their strategy is. Regardless, considering the massive volume of customers that Walmart has (except for folks like myself who almost never shop there), they have now placed themselves in the top three of the US mobile payment market, simply by offering the service.
Here's a final quote regarding Walmart Pay, and you can check out a video promo of it in the thread below,
“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.”
