Target will be debuting their own mobile payment service later this year. Their service will likely be similar to what Walmart has right now with Walmart Pay. Where it’s not part of one of the bigger services currently available, like Android Pay and Apple Pay, but their own service, that could be part of their own app that is already available on Android and iOS. Targets Chief Information and Digital Officer, Michael McNamara noted that this feature could come to both of their apps this year. There was no word on how exactly this feature would work, but there’s definitely plenty of speculation.
McNamara did note that the new mobile payment service will likely be available to shoppers who have the Target REDcard only, at least when it first launches. The REDcard is either a debit or a credit card that has a few perks for its customers to use it, like 5% off purchases at Target and free shipping. This would be a way for Target to test out the new service with a smaller group of customers, instead of just everyone who shops at Target.
Mobile payment solutions have become a pretty popular service over the past few years. Apple, Google and Samsung have all launched their own services and have numerous merchants on board already. However some larger merchants are looking for their own way to get a piece of the mobile payments pie. Seeing as Apple, Google and Samsung all take a small percentage of each sale that is done through their services, the retailers want a cut as well. Which has led to Kohls and Walmart introducing their own mobile payment solution. Of course, retailers aren’t the only ones doing this, as banks are also jumping on board. Chase has launched Chase Pay, and Capital One has the feature included in their app (although their’s is pretty straightforward, and their cards are still compatible with Apple, Google and Samsung’s systems). In the next few years, we could see loads of different mobile payment services available, many of which will likely overlap each other, and offer some different features, but most of them will be similar.