Walmart Pay introduced; mobile payment service uses retailer's app and QR codes

Everyone wants to get into the mobile payment business. Walmart today introduced Walmart Pay, a service that will allow iOS and Android users to pay at Walmart stores using their handsets. It will work at any checkout lane inside the discount retailer's stores, and is compatible with any debit card, credit card, pre-paid card or Walmart gift card.

The service will debut in select Walmart stores this month, with a nationwide launch taking place in the first half of 2016. Walmart Pay will work inside the retailer's app. To use the mobile payment service, you go online at a Walmart store and open the Walmart app. Select Walmart Pay and open the camera on your phone. During checkout, a QR code will appear on the POS screen. Scan it with your camera to connect to the register. The associate then rings up your goods, bags them, and the app runs the purchase amount through a pre-selected card. Once the entire process is completed, an eReceipt is sent to the app.


According to the retailer, 22 million people use the Walmart app every month, and it ranks among the top three retailer apps in both the App Store and Google Play Store. Considering that the service is limited to Walmart stores, this is not going to take many transactions away from Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay. Walmart knows this and says that it will integrate Walmart Pay with other mobile wallets in the future. 


source: Walmart