Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it would launch ‘Walmart Pay, ‘ to become the first US retailer to offer its own payment feature to expand consumer payment options and increase the speed of checkouts.
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Starting this month, customers will be able to use the Wal-Mart Pay app in some retail stores across the nation, but all retail stores will be able to utilize it by mid-2016.
Unlike Apple Pay and Android Pay, which let shoppers hold their smartphone near a credit card reader to pay, Walmart Pay takes a few more steps: launch the Walmart app, choose Walmart Pay, activate your camera, and then scan a special barcode on the register display.
During the checkout, you would be required to select Walmart Pay as the payment option.
Walmart U.S. senior vice president for services, Daniel Eckert, said in a video that existing mobile wallets are limited to certain types of phones, operating systems or payment types, which places constraints on users.
The launch comes a little more than six months after Walmart said it was partnering with Alipay, the financial partner of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, to bring mobile payments to 25 Walmart-owned stores in Shenzhen, China.
“We’re really working hard to create a seamless shopping experience at Walmart”, Neil Ashe, president and CEO of Walmart global ecommerce, told reporters on Wednesday. You can any major credit, debit, prepaid cards, or even add a Walmart gift card.
Customers will register once to use the payment system after downloading Wal-Mart’s mobile app.
The feature is Walmart’s latest bid to reduce the friction that can come from shopping in stores and better serve mobile customers, who are increasingly making up a larger portion of retailers’ customer bases.
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The app can also be set up to pay using a combination of Walmart Pay and cash. “The result is an innovation that will make the ease of mobile payments a reality for millions of Americans”. When purchases have been scanned and bagged by the clerk, the transaction is completed. Walmart Pay is being introduced immediately in select stores around the United States and will be expanded after the holidays, according to the company.
