Walmart Pay Launches, Adding Walmart to the Mobile Fray

Calling the mobile payments market crowded is like calling a shopping mall at Christmas crowded; you can say that, but it doesn’t exactly do it justice.

This already crowded market got one more participant involved, and the bad news for the current market is that it’s one of the biggest around. It’s Walmart, and the release of Walmart Pay will mean big things for the market.

Walmart Pay operates very simply and is almost completely unobtrusive. It works from within the Walmart app itself, allowing users to access the wallet function and then scan a quick response (QR) code right at the register, allowing a payment to be made as normal.

Walmart Pay works with both Android and iOS devices, and will accept prepaid cards alongside the standard debit and credit. Walmart gift cards will also work here.

A limited pilot has already been launched, and by the end of 2016’s first half, the app should be on hand for all users. With 22 million active users of the Walmart app already in play, that represents a whole lot of user base for one of the biggest stores around.

However, such a launch wouldn’t be without problems; Walmart Pay is very late to an increasingly crowded party, and it’s a safe bet that users have already picked a weapon of choice.

A host of other payment options from Apple Pay to Samsung Pay and a host of in-app payment systems makes for a market that’s hard to wedge into.

Thus Walmart will have to offer up an impressive value proposition to bring in users and hold same. Worse, Walmart Pay comes with an added speed bump; users have to open the Walmart app to make payments with Walmart Pay, something Apple Pay and Android Pay don’t require.

It’s clear Walmart is counting on the size of its massive user base to carry it through, and frankly, better has been done on less of a basis.

It’s entirely possible that Walmart Pay will seize and hold the Walmart market. It’s not out of line, especially if Walmart starts sweetening the pot with a few extra discounts and other benefits to get users in the door.

Knowing what we know, however, it’s going to take a pretty sweetened pot to get the users in on the action.

Walmart may have shown up to this party too late to fully take advantage of it, but then, it’s also coming in with a pretty big user base on its side. That may be enough, in the end, to give it the edge it needs to make its presence known and stay in the market for good. It may, however, not be enough, and Walmart should be getting a plan B ready in case Walmart Pay doesn’t take off.