Walmart launched its own mobile payment application, Walmart Pay, last year, and has recently made it available in more than 4,600 of its retail stores in the US, becoming the only retailer that offers its own mobile payment solution. Walmart Pay is a digital wallet within the Walmart mobile app that enables users to pay with their smartphones in Walmart stores. The payments solution is based on a QR code checkout process: customers open the Walmart app to scan the code displayed at the register in order to complete payment. The wallet works on both iOS and Android smartphones, and it supports major credit and debit cards, prepaid cards and Walmart gift cards.

Key Features of Walmart Pay and the Walmart App

Unlike other digital wallets, Walmart Pay can only be used for purchases made at Walmart, but there are several useful features offered by Walmart Pay and the Walmart app:

• Customers can use Walmart Pay to make payments with their mobile phones at checkout counters.
• They can make in-app payments for purchases made through the Walmart app.
• They can split payments across cash, gift card and Walmart Pay at checkout.
• The Walmart app stores shopping lists and e-receipts for convenient returns.
• Walmart Pay transactions are protected by Walmart’s firewall; no payment credentials are stored on a customer’s phone or exchanged at the point of sale.

Compatibility with Other Digital Wallets

At this time, Walmart does not support any other mobile digital wallets such as Apple Pay or Android Pay. Daniel Eckert, Senior Vice President of Services at Walmart, said that the company built Walmart Pay with flexibility in mind and that it is in talks with third-party digital wallets regarding the possibility of future partnerships.

Source: Apple.com/Google.com

Walmart Pay Sees Positive Signs of Adoption

The verdict is still out on whether Walmart’s proprietary payment system will prove successful, but initial reports from the company are encouraging:

• An estimated 160 million customers visit US stores and Walmart.com weekly, and 22 million of Walmart’s customers use the Walmart app each month.
• Walmart Pay transactions increased by 45% in the first week following the nationwide rollout of the feature.
• An estimated 82% of customers have recommended Walmart Pay to others and 75% of customers have given Walmart Pay a five-star rating in the Walmart app.
• Repeat users account for 88% of Walmart Pay transactions.

What’s Next?

Walmart has been under pressure over the past three years, facing stagnant sales growth. In response, the company is investing $2 billion in e-commerce in 2016 and 2017 to fuel new growth and $2.7 billion to enhance its technological capabilities. According to Doug McMillon, Walmart’s CEO, it is Walmart’s opportunity to reimagine retail. Walmart Pay is one of the big investments poised to transform the retailer’s business. Eckert pointed out that Walmart Pay is a way to build deeper relationships with customers across the company’s ecosystem, and that the Walmart app could become a pivot for customers to order items online conveniently. Walmart also plans to add predictive capability to its app, allowing it to create automatic shopping lists based on customers’ previous purchases.