Walmart Pay is exactly what you think it is

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.

Wal-Mart will debut Walmart Pay, the retailer’s new mobile payment system, and will battle Samsung, Google and Apple in the crowded mobile pay market. After that, the consumer activates the camera on the app to scan the quick-read (QR) code on the reader after the first item is scanned by the cashier.

Wal-Mart has been working with a consortium of retailers to develop a mobile wallet, called CurrentC, which was beta-launched in August, in a bid to rival Apple Inc’s Apple Pay.

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. The mobile payments platform wars have been making plenty of headlines in recent months as more and more companies are adding their own systems to the marketplace. In fact, it sounds a lot like CurrentC, which the retailer has been backing instead of supporting Apple Pay.

It will be integrated into the existing Wal-Mart app, an effort to build a bridge between in-store shopping and e-commerce.

Walmart on Thursday introduced Walmart Pay – the ability to pay at the register with smartphones.

Customers in the store must open their Walmart app and select a payment feature.

Customers will register once to use the payment system after downloading Wal-Mart’s mobile app.

The app provides an improved shopping experience for its customers, as it offers features such as check in to collect online order at Walmart store, refill pharmacy prescriptions, and locate specific items within the store. The app will allow customers to use their Apple or Android phones to checkout at any lane in the store.

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. “The result is an innovation that will make the ease of mobile payments a reality for millions of Americans”.

This setup actually has several advantages that will make Walmart Pay available to the greatest number of customers possible.