If the mobile payment scene is not crowded enough with Apple, Samsung and Google (Android) offering their respective “Pay” option, there’s a new Pay player on the game, Walmart Pay. Bundled inside the Walmart mobile app, the new system will work only on the retailer stores so customers can pay for their shopping with a mobile phone, and it will be compatible with both Android and iOS. While Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay compete with each other, Walmart Pay isn’t going to enter their game anytime soon.
Differently from the other systems, this one doesn’t work through NFC, meaning you cannot make wireless payments. Instead, when heading out to the cashier, just open the app and scan a QR code at the register, then the cashier will scan and pack your purchases, and this is it. According to the company, it works with any credit, debit and pre-paid cards and also Walmart gift cards. While it is not as practical to use since it doesn’t work with NFC, this is a good advantage because the app is somewhat universal. You don’t need to have the latest iPhone, or a high-end Galaxy S6 or Note 5 phones to use it.
Walmart says it has 22 million monthly active users for its mobile app, and there are 140 million weekly customers shopping with them every week, and it will be interesting to see the adoption of Walmart Pay. “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 of services on a press release. “We made a strategic decision to design Walmart Pay to work with almost any smartphone and accept almost any payment type”, completed him, mentioning that other mobile wallets will be integrated to Walmart Pay in the future.
The company released a video introducing the new system, and it gives us a glimpse of how it works. Although this is a marketing video, the system seems to be pretty easy to use, so check it out below the text. Walmart Pay is launching today in select stores in Bentonville, Ark., where the company is headquartered, and Walmart expects the feature will be available nationwide by the end of the first half of 2016. What do you think? Would you be using Walmart Pay and prefer it instead of Android or Samsung Pay?