Wal-Mart mobile pay service rollout complete, repeat usage jumps

Walmart shoppers from California to ME and everywhere in between can now use their phone make purchases at the cash register. Walmart said on a call with reporters Wednesday that transactions using Walmart Pay jumped by 45% last week as it introduced the option to more stores.

Luckily for Walmart, the retailer already counts 24 million registered users for its mobile app, which probably has helped on the adoption front.

US retailers have launched many mobile payment apps in the last two years, but customers and merchants have been slow to adopt them.

Today, Walmart has announced that Walmart Pay is now available in all Walmart stores nationwide, meaning no matter what state you’re in, you’ll be able to use Walmart’s mobile payment solution instead of Android Pay or Samsung Pay, should you choose to, and should you shop at Walmart.

And as more customers get on board, it could mean an easier shopping experience as Walmart taps into shoppers’ purchase behavior.

The expanded mobile payments also may provide Wal-Mart with a trove of additional data that it could use to improve its marketing via e-mail, text message or on Facebook, said Omer Artun, chief executive officer of AgilOne, a technology consulting firm.

Walmart Pay works through a QR (short for quick response) code system. When you’re ready to pay, you pull up the retailer’s app, enter a PIN and scan the matrix barcode presented to you at the register with your total. An electronic receipt is then sent to the app. To access it, users will need to download the Walmart app and the functionality is live within the app after you set it up. It allows payments on Apple and Android devices with nearly all major credit, debit and pre-paid cards or Walmart gift cards.