Walmart Pay 'Close to Surpassing' Apple Pay in U.S. Mobile Payments Usage

[AustinIllini]

Walmart controls the system from top to bottom so they do have your credit card number. The credit card number apparently isn't transmitted as part of the transaction process in the store but they will match it to your account and CC number in the payment processing center. That isn't really what they want though. They want to track your buying habits. A CC number is just one way of doing it. If you use Walmart Pay then they have a tracking ID in the form of your user information and the CC number is needless.

One reason Walmart Pay is getting decent adoption rates is because of their Savings Catcher. Scan a QR code from your receipt and Walmart will do price matching against other local retailers. The catch is any refund is in the form of Walmart Pay credit.

Right. If Apple/Google were interested in getting their NFC payments more widely used, they would better incentivise using Apple Pay, Android Pay for businesses and customers.

I used Android Pay in 2015...? Got a Best Buy gift card for using it. Went back to iPhone but when I came back to Android this year and there the gift card was. Slick!

 

[TimeSquareDesi]

AmazonPay, AmazonPay, AmazonPay!

I, for one, welcome our new Amazon overlords.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Is Walmart pay directly comparable to Apple Pay though? I mean, yes, both are mobile payment systems, but is Walmart Pay accepted anywhere other than WM? It seems like it's a one-store system whereas Apple Pay is more "universal."

I'm not a regular WM shopper but they are the only place in town that sells Chili Chocolate Granola bars and they are my "crack." So I have to venture in a couple times a year to buy my horde. One thing I noticed that is different than Apple Pay (because it saves WM $ no doubt) is that when you self check out the WM Pay option is the biggest icon. (I don't use it myself -- no reason to).

OTOH when I'm shopping at other stores I almost have to know ahead of time if they accept it. There is typically zero promotion of its availability. And that is a problem because no one wants to look like a dolt trying to tap a console that isn't NFC capable (I've seen a lot of consoles that have the NFC logo but the NFC is actually turned off).

So I think Apple could do a lot better promotion here -- either lowering the rate it gets per charge or offering merchants promotional $. But in exchange require merchants to display an Apple Pay logo on the console or nearby.

Totally agree...

Hey, what happened to your previous Avatar?

 

[bollman]

The Swedish digital payment system "Swish", which by the way works for stores, online shopping and payment between persons, was used by 68% of the population this september.
26 million transactions, in a country with 10 million inhabitants and you have to be 16 to get Swish.
Oh, and it's on iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

Good luck Apple to get into that market...

 

[neverendingscot]

I've only used it three times. Once because I forgot my wallet, twice because the credit card reader was screwing up. I do not like it, takes a lot longer to use than a credit card or Samsung Pay (which takes longer than a credit card at Walmart). Also a pain in the butt to use - unlock the phone, find the walmart app, open it, click the menu, click walmart pay, sign in or use fingerprint scanner, then scan the QR code. With my credit card, all I need to do is grab it out of my wallet and stick it in the credit card reader. Or if I use Samsung Pay, swipe from the bottom of the screen, sign in with the fingerprint scanner, and hold the phone up to the credit card reader.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Square has support for Apple Pay. They even have it in their advertisements on TV. NYC has lots of small businesses and I use Apple Pay every time.

This.

And all those little credit card machines that aren’t Square work with Apple Pay too. Sometimes you gotta walk them through it but I use Apple Pay at least twice a day!

 

[Glideslope]

@Chupa Chupa there is actually such a thing as chili chocolate granola bars? My mind is blown. I do like chili. I love chocolate. I’m good with granola. I can’t imagine them together. I only go to Walmart when I’m down south. Next time I go, I’ll go seek out this strange treat you mention.

IMO, this is the best. I think the Chili goes best with a Dark Chocolate. Brings out the Chili Zest more prominently, IMO.

https://www.lindtusa.com/shop-our-c...s-and-sticks--sc4/chili-excellence-bar-438092

 

[kruegdude]

Welp, they just jinxed any chance of that happening by saying it to the public.

PS. Walmart is just one server breach away from people never using Walmart Pay ever again.​

I’ve been to the Walmart data centers. They’re impressively sophisticated and I suspect extremely difficult to breach. Then again, that was a while ago.

 

[spazzcat]

Unsurprising. Apple pay is basically Walgreens pay.

Most merchants aren't even sure if and what NFC they support and it seems to rarely be Apple based on waving my phone around.

And small businesses are almost exclusively square these days.

Square works with NFC if they have the current reader.

 

[lkrupp]

So where’s Samsung Pay and Google Pay in this mix? If Apple is #1 and Walmart is closing in what are the other doing?

 

[lenard]

Meh, Walmart pay is not a payment in other stores. That is like comparing Apple Pay to Target gift cards.

I am glad they see value in Mobile payments, however misguided.

Second that, can you use Walmart Pay outside of Walmart, NO........

 

[varera]

Nah, it is just walmart customers cannot used apple pay because they do not owe apple phones. clear as day

 

[dontwalkhand]

Wal-Mart meh. Family never goes there.

If only Apple could get Costco and Kroger on board, it would blow away Wal-Mart.

Costco is coming!!! I have friends who work there and their new gas pumps have it but not yet turned on. It’s coming!

 

[mainomega]

This is just trying to make Walmart Pay seem like its being used. I have a store next to me called Oliver's Tap. They have their own payment/phone system as well. Guess what ?

Oliver's Tap Mobile Payment solution is used by 100% of the people who shop there. Hence, it is better than Walmart Pay and Apple Pay put together ! Make me a stock analyst too please.

 

[WWPD]

Local grocery store and Aldi for me, Wal Mart..no thanks.

 

[blcamp]

A ridiculous comparison. One store vs. merchants and banks all over the world. Walmart Pay isn't even accepted at Sam's Club! I use Apple Pay at two different grocery stores nearby, Walgreens, Groupon, Amazon... and once my regular gas station chain (Speedway) adopts it, my need to pull out the plastic will drop to near zero.

 

[Glideslope]

Costco is coming!!! I have friends who work there and their new gas pumps have it but not yet turned on. It’s coming!

I can second this. The new pumps just went in at my COSTCO.

 

[Iconoclysm]

Unsurprising. Apple pay is basically Walgreens pay.

Most merchants aren't even sure if and what NFC they support and it seems to rarely be Apple based on waving my phone around.

And small businesses are almost exclusively square these days.

Square accepts Apple Pay. I'm not sure you understand what Apple Pay is, really.

 

[AdonisSMU]

I've gone back to using cash.

I just don't feel like I so desperately need every purchase I make to be tracked, compiled, and sold to advertisers that the twenty giant corporations between me and a cup of coffee aren't enough.

I want them to keep the stuff I like in the store so I let them track it.

 

[kruegdude]

I was so happy to set up Apple Pay 3 years ago when I bought my 6 plus.

But sadly 3 years later I can’t even remember the last time I went somewhere that accepted Apple Pay.

Maybe not Apples fault but disappointing just the same.

You should try looking again. More and more places accept them now. With Square even mom and pop stores have them.

 

[mainomega]

Costco is coming!!! I have friends who work there and their new gas pumps have it but not yet turned on. It’s coming!

Work as a gas pump attendant or work in corporate? If it is the first, not sure how he can know anything more than what we know.

 

[chumpy34]

Not a surprise since I never use apple pay unless it's online staring at me. I haven't used this crap at a store since discover ran their promotion. It's way too inconvenient. It's up to Apple to make it worthwhile to use. Open up that wallet and start offering rewards Apple..

I don't get this? I use Apple Pay several times a day. Filling up my car at the gas station takes literally seconds now as I just wave my Apple Watch in front of the scanner and start pumping gas. I also use it at the grocery store, shopping for clothes, Apple Store, online, etc. Super fast, leave my credit card at home and just makes everything so simple.

 

[AdonisSMU]

I would think that Walmart will make the process attractive enough that many Walmart shoppers will use it. While that is a big part of the U.S., it still limits the target audience. I don't have a Walmart near me enough to think of getting the app. But Apple Pay is accepted in more places every year. Now it is back in NYC cabs and that is where I'm using it all the time.

I use it at Duane Reade, cabs and lots of local coffee houses and clothing shops.

The article is a big stretch. Why isnt Apple following up on retailer integration efforts. It feels like they start these software initiatives and then disappears.

 

[kruegdude]

I've had Apple Pay set up ever since it was first released. How many times have I used it? Not even once. It's just not accepted at any places I regularly shop.

I really wanted to try it for the first time yesterday at the Apple Store when I bought the case for my iPhone X. But I thought it would be too embarrassing to even attempt it so I just paid with the CC.

Perhaps if they offered some incentives and it was available in more places I would be more apt to use it, but for now it is essentially useless (for me anyway.

You’re embarrassed to be in the 21st century?

 

[PizzaBoxStyle]

Well we know this "study" wasn't peer reviewed. Walmart Pay is accepted in Walmart and Walmart and Walmart... Apple Pay is accepted in many stores. This is a comparison of two very different things. If Walmart Pay branches out and is accepted at other stores then we can start to make the comparison.

Is Walmart pay cross-platform?

Apple Pay only working on iOS gear is going to be a hinderance going forward, when so much of the world is on Android (like it or not).