Wal-Mart: “Walmart Pay” Mobile wallet

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. launched its own mobile payment system, dubbed Walmart Pay, in select stores near its Bentonville, Ark., headquarters on Thursday, giving customers their first opportunity to use a mobile payment system in its stores.

Starting this month, customers will be able to use the Wal-Mart Pay app in some retail stores across the nation, but all retail stores will be able to utilize it by mid-2016.

Instead of launching a new app, Walmart representatives explained that the retailer has embedded the mobile payment system into its existing smartphone app. Then you’ll have to scan the QR code displayed at the register to confirm the payment and you’re done. Walmart Pay is now connected.

Easy isn’t the word that first comes to mind with Walmart Pay considering it requires users first download a third-party app, and then go through a multi-step process to complete a transaction.

With this app, Walmart will now be in competition with Apple pay, Google wallet, and Samsung pay at its own store.

The goal with Walmart Pay is to improve customer checkout and dramatically expand mobile payment access. This festive season, Wal-Mart included new features like permitting online customers to check in once they got to the parking area so they could have their online requests prepared for pickup.

Walmart is listed as a backer of the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), which is promoting a retailer supported payment system, called CurrentC.

The world’s largest retailer was also dissatisfied with other mobile wallets available.

With the addition of payment functionality the retailer is likely to see its app become even more relevant to shoppers for whom the mobile devices have become an indispensable part of daily life.

Twenty-two shoppers now use the Walmart app that is available for both iOS and Android, and has features that include checking in to pick up an online order at a Walmart store, refilling pharmacy prescriptions and finding an item’s store location. “The result is an innovation that will make the ease of mobile payments a reality for millions of Americans”, he added. Walmart Pay is now connected.