Resisting Apple Pay, Walmart pushes its own e-wallet to over 500 retail stores
Rather than accept Apple Pay, mega-retailer Walmart is instead pushing forward with its own mobile payment service, dubbed Walmart Pay, which has launched at its stores across Texas and Arkansas.
Though Apple Pay continues to expand, Walmart has still resisted Apple's NFC-based payment system, and is now offering its own digital payments through the Walmart app. Walmart was part of a retailer group in late 2014 that initially opposed Apple Pay and backed CurrentC, an alternative QR-code digital payment method similar to Walmart Pay.
The move is significant given that Walmart has 110 stores in its home state of Arkansas and another 480 stores across Texas, serving 140 million customers a week. With over 20 million customers using the Walmart app tied to Walmart Pay every month to pay for purchases, the company is confident that shoppers will continue to use their product.
"We can't wait to hear what our customers and associates in Texas think of Walmart Pay," said Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of services for Walmart. "The service was built to make shopping easier and faster, something we know our customers want."
Unlike the convenient tap-to-pay functionality with Apple Pay, Walmart Pay requires additional steps such as opening the Walmart app first, choosing Walmart Pay and then scanning the QR code. A customer can also protect access to the app via a pin or Touch ID.
Walmart Pay works with both iOS and Android smartphones, prepaid cards and all major payment cards (Visa, MasterCard and Discover). The company encourages use in any checkout lane, from self-service to regular lanes. Walmart Pay stores receipts and shopping lists, keeps track of gift card balances and enables customers to refill prescriptions.
However, Walmart Pay's usage is limited to just Walmart stores. With extra steps and less encryption, offers a slower and less secure experience than Apple Pay.
Meanwhile, Apple Pay is now supported at over 2 million retail stores nationwide and continues to gain support among banks in the U.S., Canada and U.K.
Though Apple Pay continues to expand, Walmart has still resisted Apple's NFC-based payment system, and is now offering its own digital payments through the Walmart app. Walmart was part of a retailer group in late 2014 that initially opposed Apple Pay and backed CurrentC, an alternative QR-code digital payment method similar to Walmart Pay.
The move is significant given that Walmart has 110 stores in its home state of Arkansas and another 480 stores across Texas, serving 140 million customers a week. With over 20 million customers using the Walmart app tied to Walmart Pay every month to pay for purchases, the company is confident that shoppers will continue to use their product.
"We can't wait to hear what our customers and associates in Texas think of Walmart Pay," said Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of services for Walmart. "The service was built to make shopping easier and faster, something we know our customers want."
Unlike the convenient tap-to-pay functionality with Apple Pay, Walmart Pay requires additional steps such as opening the Walmart app first, choosing Walmart Pay and then scanning the QR code. A customer can also protect access to the app via a pin or Touch ID.
Walmart Pay works with both iOS and Android smartphones, prepaid cards and all major payment cards (Visa, MasterCard and Discover). The company encourages use in any checkout lane, from self-service to regular lanes. Walmart Pay stores receipts and shopping lists, keeps track of gift card balances and enables customers to refill prescriptions.
However, Walmart Pay's usage is limited to just Walmart stores. With extra steps and less encryption, offers a slower and less secure experience than Apple Pay.
Meanwhile, Apple Pay is now supported at over 2 million retail stores nationwide and continues to gain support among banks in the U.S., Canada and U.K.
Comments
"We want to hear what our customers want. This app makes shopping fast and easy for them"
Customers want APPLEPAY.
APPLEPAY already makes shopping faster and easier.
What an ignorant comment...Who the hell do you think shops there?
Walmart should have looked at the demographics of their own shoppers before going forward. It is quite doubtful that many of their shoppers will even be interested in downloading the Walmart app.
First I do not shop at WalMart so I do not care what they do.
I will tell you have to deal with the Chip & Pin in Canada and now in the US, the entire process sucks really bad next to Apple Pay.
Apple Pay is another shining example of How Apple gets it right and everyone else has not clue. The Entire chip and pin process is slow and cumbersome. There is so many steps in the process that it is easy to screw it up. Especially at a restaurant, they have to bring the machine to your table, then they have to punch in the information about your charge, then you have to slide in your card , answer questions, then decide how to do the tip, most have defaults for 10%, 15% or 20% or you can enter your own amount. Any place they allows Apple Pay it so much easier. Whole thing at WalMart is just going to take extra steps which people will screw up.
I can not believe there were people on here from the UK and elsewhere talking about how much better chip and pin was. As a person who used card swipe, chip and pin and Apple pay, chip and pin is at the bottom of the list of easy of use. The simple fact you have to unlock your phone, then find the WalMart app, then navigate to the correct place in the app to read the code, then go through what ever security steps to authorize the payment this is going to turn into a nightmare.
Walmart is doing this to try and save 2% to 3% on CC transaction. They are trying to cut CC out of their business so they can make a little extra profits for the Walmart family.
And yt another proof that all this "we care so much about our customers" is complete bs. They care about monetizing customers above and beyond customer experience. Oh, when I say "they" I don't restrict this o Walmart and ApplePay.Jesus, why can't people once understand that if a great tech comes around that has huge potential and definitely increases customer satisfaction, that you can only looser if you don't join, but come up with competing nonsense. Don't they know that happy customers ultimately give you more money?
Their clientele can't even spell elitist, or clientele, or Apple, or...
This is one of rare places where the absolute market share figures of the iPhone are relevant. If 70% of the Walmart customers would have an iPhone, their strategic decision might have been different.
The Walmart situation is not unique. Apple fails to make Apple Pay a success in Europe for exactly the same reason: the iPhone market share is too low for merchants to invest in the system.
Obviously Walmart's statements about doing it to help its customers "make shopping easier and faster" is total BS. As others have already commented, there are already mobile payment solutions like Apple Pay and whatever-Samsungs-or-Google's-things-are-called that do this better and faster than this purports to. No, the real reason is *money* of course. Like everyone, Walmart has to pay MC/Visa/Amex/Discover a fee every time someone uses them to pay. This mobile solution lets Walmart get around that - since it'll take the money directly out of your bank account!
What other negatives does Wal Mart present?
And you can just as easily suggest the opposite logic that Apple users are spending big money, Apple has little
worldwide market share yet Apple users spend the most. Cutting them
off to please a few android users who don't even know what a good phone is, is just as risky if not more risky since most android users don't know how to use apps and won't bother to download one.
The text states that Visa/Mastercard/Discover cards are accepted. There is no need to access your bank account for a Visa payment.
Unfortunately I live in an area where Wal-Mart dominates. They are about the only game in town. I have tried to use Walmart pay 4 times and have only been successful once. Most of the cashiers do not even understand how it works. I hope it fails soon and they allow apple pay.