Walmart Launches First U.S. Retailer Payments Service
After months of escalating rumors, Walmart finally announced the arrival of its new payments service. Called Walmart Pay, the platform marks the first of its kind offering from a U.S. retailer.
“We’re making it as simple to pay in the store as it is to pay online,” says Neil Ashe, Walmart’s CEO of global e-commerce.
Walmart Pay is designed to boost transaction options for consumers. The free app is scheduled to roll out in 2016 on both iOS and Android devices. It will cater to a range of major credit, debit and prepaid cards, as well as participating gift cards and coupons.
To use the app, individuals will have to first register as a customer. At the checkout counter, the phone camera scans a code at the register. If successful, the customer is issued an e-receipt through the handheld platform.
Eventually, the brand also plans to add mobile wallets to the payment options, though Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of services for Walmart U.S., failed to disclose which companies are working with the group to fulfill the service.
In the past, the establishment was closely linked with CurrentC, which many speculate is helping develop its mobile wallet services. Other major retailers backing the startup includes Target and Lowe’s.
“When Apple released Apple Pay, the idea was that we’re now moving forward with N.F.C., and that’s the way all mobile payments will be transacted,” said James Wester, a global payments expert at IDC Financial Insights.
“But now, we’re beginning to see that no, that’s probably not the way it’s going to develop, and it’s not something we’re just going to give over to Apple or Google. Nobody’s won yet. There’s just been no overwhelming support for anybody. So at this point, it’s still anybody’s game.”