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

[robinp]

I don't think it really matters. The international picture would be very different.

 

[Böhme417]

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

My Costco has had these new pumps for over a year and still nothing.

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.

So, I emailed Costco about these new pumps, asking about taking contactless payments. They replied that they would accept contactless payments starting in "late spring" of this year. That obviously didn't happen.

 

[DotCom2]

That's my problem with apple pay. Unless I see a sticker saying that it works I don't even try. I can't tell you how many times I looked like an idiot trying to pay with my phone only to find out it doesn't work.

Or if you ask the cashier and you get the BLANK LOOK STARE!

 

[Scottsoapbox]

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.

You don't need scientific peer review to compare two numbers.

Walmart by itself is doing more daily transactions than the "many stores" that use Apple pay. Period. The end.

Sorry that this offends your 'Apple is better at everything' sensibilities, but those are the facts.

Now as a scientist, I will "review" this for you: Apple pay has not captured much of the "pay" market yet. Walmart's annual sales are $485B while the US GDP is $18,569B. Now that's global sales and not all of Walmart's customers are using Walmart pay, but as an easy comparison that is 2.5% of GDP. So guessing at how many Walmarters are using it gives you a rough idea of how pervasive Apple pay is in the US.

 

[lederermc]

Who cares about Walmart ? Is accepted only on Walmart, as ApplePay "everywhere"

Not everywhere yet... but getting there.

 

[linkgx1]

I was so bad about Walmart having their own pay system, but it's not bad. They gave me a $10 GC to use it for the first time.

However, Sam's Club (a Walmart subsidiary) uses Scan and Go and it's a God send. My biggest problem with Sam's club was always the big, long ass lines. But I can pretty much buy most of what I need with it an rarely have issues.

 

[Scottsoapbox]

Where do you live where only Walgreens has NFC? All Starbucks stores accept Apple Pay now, all McDonalds, most Subways, a bunch of other fast food places, various big retailers...it’s more likely a location accepts it than doesn’t at this point. And most small businesses accept NFC, at least in New England (that includes Square).

I live in New Orleans and we prefer local businesses to national chains. For instance there is 1 Starbucks within a short driving distance of me of the dozens and dozens of local shops on each block.

 

[VARTV]

I've been using Walmart pay a lot since getting the iPhone X. Face ID makes it really easy. I just go to the self-checkout, the iPhone scans my face, I scan the code on the screen, and it's ready to go.

It is very easy to use WMP. It also saves your receipt electronically and it asks you if you want to submit your receipt to the Savings Catcher. If WallyWorld finds lower prices at competitors within 7 days, you get the difference on an e-GC which we have tied to the app. After checkingout, the app deducts the total from the e-GC balance first then charges your CC the difference...

 

[Scottsoapbox]

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

The NFC square does, but not the old one.

 

[gavroche]

Walmart pay is ok, once you have the app setup it works pretty fast. Plus I like how you have all the receipts in the app. I’ve even gotten cash back via their savings catcher program. It’s not as slick as Apple Pay but it does work fairly well at Walmart.

Ha... this thread has been an ad for Walmart Pay. I never knew anything about it, but now im curious to try it. For the receipts and incentives. I have a toddler and twin 10 month olds... we buy lots of diapers there...

 

[Scottsoapbox]

Square works with NFC if they have the current reader.

Yup. They don't.

 

[Steveuk82]

I know it has already been noted but it is such a different story in UK (especially here in London). I use ApplePay for about 99% of all my day 2 day transactions and is so much easier; hardly take my wallet out with me. We can use ApplePay on the public transport systems as well (which is a god send when i forget my pass).

 

[iosiseasy]

I still prefer Samsung Pay. Will never use Apple Pay or Android Pay since not all cash registers have NFC on it.

Still, nothing beats debit except cash. Imagine you are in a fast food drive-thru or paying gas above the pump? Or just wanting to get money from an ATM? Might as well use debit. Do you really want to hand over your phone to the drive-thru cashier to scan it?

At McDonald's drive thru, they stick the machine out to you so you don't have to reach far

 

[tdar]

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

This. Same is true for CVS pay and soon Target pay. Speaking of Target, imagine being them and trying to get shoppers to allow you to store their Credit Cards Numbers in a Target server. Seems like something that never going to happen.

 

[mrow]

That's my problem with apple pay. Unless I see a sticker saying that it works I don't even try. I can't tell you how many times I looked like an idiot trying to pay with my phone only to find out it doesn't work.

I used to think that way. Now when Apple Pay doesn’t work I make a comment about how I can’t believe it’s almost 2018 and your store still doesn’t support mobile wallets like Apple Pay. If people don’t complain about it retailers won’t know the demand is there so people like you never even trying it just perpetuates the problem of it not working in places. If cashiers get enough complaints they’ll say something to management. If management gets enough complaints they’ll upgrade their systems or report it to corporate if they’re a big chain.

 

[Scottsoapbox]

I disagree. Around me, all major supermarkets, Staples, a gas station, and my coffee shop are all on Apple Pay. Walgreens too, of course, as they were first adopters. And you know that Square supports Apple Pay, right?

New Orleans favors local shops to national chains. The regional grocery does not, and even the Winn Dixie doesn't have the NFC turned on.

Can't say that I miss O'Charley's even if I could use Apple pay.

And yes the new square supports it but not the old one. 1 out of 100 small businesses here have the new one.
Heck 10% of small businesses here only take cash. #oldschool

 

[streetskooler]

I use Apple Pay all the time. My local shop rite, stop and shop, and Walgreens all accept it. That being said Apple needs to do a much better job advertising it

 

[gavroche]

How the heck is Apple Pay too inconvenient? Why should Apple be offering you rewards? Wouldn’t that come from your credit card company?

Apple gets a percentage of the transaction if you pay eith Apple Pay. They get nothing if you dont. The credit card company loses that percentage to Apple when you use Apple Pay. So... which of those two companies is more interested in you using Apple Pay...?

 

[loanhighknight]

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.

You're basically putting your finger on the issue with this article. MacRumors screwed up the title. From the actual study:

"Forrester’s survey of 58,000 online consumers in the first half of 2017 found that 7 percent of them used Apple Pay in the past three months, while 6 percent used Walmart Pay."

The survey does NOT indicate that Walmart Pay is "close to surpassing" Apple Pay. Number of users who reported using it does not indicate victory in this space: frequency of use and size of purchases do. I use Apple Pay easily 8-10 times a week, for lunch and groceries, because the stores I most frequently shop at accept it. My usage far offsets dozens of individual Walmart Pay users who shop at Walmart once a month, check out with WP, and don't use it at all otherwise.

TL;DNR: success in mobile payment is about frequency of use and size of purchases; this study simply analyzed the whole number of users over an arbitrary length of time without respect to those factors.

 

[Scottsoapbox]

Unless the merchant only has the older mag stripe only reader, Square does accept Apple Pay, chip cards and other NFC payments.

Yup they almost all have the old one here. I appreciate the entire board pointing out this obvious thing though.

 

[gavroche]

admirable hopes but i think the larger companies grow, rotting from the insides is a form of natural progression for them...... i am hopeful but cautiously optimistic.

Saw a documentary once on conditions for Amazon warehouse employees. Crazy. And they discussed how Amazon treats their marketplace sellers... not encouraging...

 

[tdar]

So what I came away with was:

1. Walmart’s engineers found it too complex to implement Apple Pay, but not too complex to implement a similar system from the ground up
2. Walmart Pay will soon surpass Apple Pay at Walmart stores? If Walmart Pay is the only option at their stores, wouldn't it have surpassed it on day 1?

As to your first point, It has NOTHING to do with complexity. WM engineering could have it working in days. It has to do with money. It's not that they can't do it, it's that they don't want to. That's why I like the idea someone offered before in the thread. Apple should be offering a reward to customers for using Apple pay. Then users would want to use it and would demand that merchants implement it.

Point 2 is spot on.

 

[KingslayerG5]

Check the restaurants for Apple Pay...

https://www.apple.com/apple-pay/where-to-use/

It doesn't even have Arby's, Burger King, Carl's Jr, Jack-In-A-Box, Taco Bell, or Wendy's. What if I want to eat at In-N-Out (kinda overrated to me), Original Tommy's, Raising Cane's, or Duke's Cafe?

My main one for drive-thru is Yoshinoya in Norwalk. Jollibee in Anaheim has a drive-thru. I much prefer their spicy Chickenjoy than Popeye's. Trust me, I know which restaurants to go. I don't buy stuff anymore. My payments goes mainly to food or gas.

NFC-based payments is still very limited. California Fish & Grill, Corner Bakery, Flame Broiler, Five Guys, Urban Plates, Mendocino Farm, Panda Express, Asian restaurants, buffets, etc, you will just end up using your debit.

Too much hassle trying to figure out if Apple Pay and Android Pay is accepted at particular restaurants I go to. It's like 90% it won't.

 

[Jimmy Bubbles]

I think if other grocery stores would be incentivized to take Apple Pay, I'm sure that would change. I only go to Walmart as a last resort. I've never even given Walmart Pay the time of day, but apparently I'm one of the few who hasn't. I use Apple Pay all day long, anywhere and everywhere I can.

 

[gavroche]

Yeah, this was a huge shock to me when I moved to the US - Why does nowhere have NFC payments? Why don't chip readers require a pin when using a credit card? Why can't I go on my bank's website and transfer money to my friend's account for free? Why is there a fee to use an ATM that isn't owned by my specific bank?

The US is ahead of the curve in a lot of areas, but personal banking is definitely not one of them.

I thought the US was behind in a lot of things. Like Bluetooth.... i remember resding about it and how it was built into non US models of devices long before anyon ein the US ever saw it...