Walmart launches QR code mobile payment system to rival Apple Pay

AppleInsider

Walmart on Wednesday announced it will be entering the mobile payments business with a branded system called Walmart Pay, a direct competitor to existing solutions from the likes of Apple, Alphabet and Samsung.

Going live in select U.S. Walmart stores on Thursday, Walmart Pay is integrated into Walmart's mobile app and offers smartphone-toting customers the option to pay with any major credit card, debit card or preloaded Walmart gift card, the company said.

Unlike Apple Pay and other NFC payment systems, Walmart Pay relies on QR codes to complete transactions at the point of sale terminal. Upon checkout, customers select Walmart Pay from within the Walmart app and take a picture of a generated QR code on the POS terminal store to connect. An electronic receipt is stored in-app. Users can also elect to use Apple's Touch ID fingerprint recognition module for security.

"The simplicity and ease of Walmart Pay comes not only from how it works, but also in how it's been built," said Walmart VP of services Daniel Eckert ."We made a strategic decision to design Walmart Pay to work with almost any smartphone and accept almost any payment type - even allowing for the integration of other mobile wallets in the future. The result is an innovation that will make the ease of mobile payments a reality for millions of Americans."

Walmart sees more than 22 million active users on its iOS and Android apps each month, the company said.

During a conference call, Eckert said Walmart is in talks with other mobile wallet developers, but did not name any specific companies, reports Reuters.

Interestingly, Walmart is one of the biggest backers of retail consortium MCX, the group behind mobile payments platform CurrentC. That system is currently in limited beta testing. MCX retailers infamously rejected Apple Pay when the service launched in 2014, but a year later some -- notably Best Buy -- are breaking rank.

Walmart said it will continue to accept CurrentC payments alongside Walmart Pay when the service rolls out to 4,600 U.S. stores in the first half of next year. There are no plans to integrate Apple Pay into the mix.

snova

good luck with that.

deepinsider

This sounds like it would be insecure. A visual system? How do they keep that secure?

jonyo

QR codes? I don't even need to know any more technical details, this is already a fail.

genovelle

Dumb dumb dumb. Why why why

crowley

So how does the terminal know you've paid if there's no connection to the app?  Does it have to receive a message from a processing server initiated from your phone?  That seems convoluted.

crowley

deepinsider said:

This sounds like it would be insecure. A visual system? How do they keep that secure?

?

The visual is the payment request detail on the terminal.  If someone wants to steal that and pay my grocery bill for me, they're more than welcome.

sflocal

Good luck with that Walmart....

Data breach in 3...2...1...

fallenjt

No one gives the shit about this payment system. Most Walmart shoppers are low tech with low incomes. They don't even use debit card right, so forget about digital payments.

slprescott

The biggest impact of this announcement is on CurrentC / MCX. Walmart's decision to implement its own solution shows their lack of confidence in CurrentC, and that will lead to more defections from the CurrentC vendor community (Best Buy, CVS, etc.).

rogifan_old

So you have to open an app, then scan a QR code or does the code automatically display when you put your phone near the register? Doesn't seem nearly as convenient as double clicking my Watch side button and holding my wrist up to the terminal.

maestro64

So we now have all kinds of payment systems this is becoming as bad as when you could only use store credit cards or cash. People used to and still do have to carry around all kinds of cards. Now you still have to carry around cars as well as know which payment system on your phone to use. 

In 5 years this is all going to be a mess.

BTW the reason Walmart is using the QR code at the POS terminal is because your phone scans it sends it to their back-end severed then they use your registered card and process it as a normal transaction they do not need to work with the CC companies to do it this way. It is no different than you storing your CC on Amazon.

dewme

I bet this is all about customer profiling and data mining and has very little to do with streamlining payments or ensuring privacy. Used to be that WalMart's magic hammer was "everyday low prices" and they didn't need to track customers or have so-called loyalty programs. Just put the squeeze on suppliers and keep costs low on their side. But now they're getting killed by Amazon and online shopping in general and the new regime liking perks that the founder would never have approved of they are moving away from their core brute force strategy and getting gimmicky.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Since shopping at WalMart is often an act of desperation to begin with it sounds like they have a compatible strategy for pseudo automated payments. The clock start ticking on how long this survive before its first major security or privacy breach. I'm sure you'll be able to count on them to bail you out when it happens - not.

WalMart shoppers beware, your privacy is the next blue light special for them to sell. 

cpsro

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

It won't be easy for anyone who shops regularly at Walmart. Those who rarely shop there, will have no interest.

hamiltonrrwatch

Yes but does it work with their new phone?

lkrupp

“Walmart sees more than 22 million active users on its iOS and Android apps each month, the company said.” So much for the “iOS users are more affluent and educated” argument. /s

mike1

Hmm. The walmart execs got together and said "Let's take a simple, easy-to-use interface, over-engineer it so that it becomes complicated and convoluted, then force it down our customer's throats." About right for those clowns.

anderkh

I'm betting you need a data signal for this to work...

suddenly newton

lkrupp said:

“Walmart sees more than 22 million active users on its iOS and Android apps each month, the company said.” So much for the “iOS users are more affluent and educated” argument. /s

That's a combined statistic. It's like saying their parking lots are "full of Range Rovers and Hyundais." 

supadav03

lkrupp said:

“Walmart sees more than 22 million active users on its iOS and Android apps each month, the company said.” So much for the “iOS users are more affluent and educated” argument. /s

Yes, because 20 million are on Android and 2 million on iOS.........

applesauce007

I don't see what Walmart gets out of this except some customer information; they are still paying fees to Visa, Master Card and AMEX.  I think this is a "me too" move that management can put on their accomplishment list after failing for years.

1.  Users will not want to use it because it will be slow, insecure, error prone and lead to long lines.

2.  There is nothing in it for the user.  It is not fast and convenient and it can only be used at Walmart.

I say it is DOA.