Walmart's Mobile Payment App To Be Available In All Stores Nationwide

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) shoppers from coast to coast will now be able to use their phones to make purchases at the register. The nation’s largest retail chain announced Wednesday that Walmart Pay, the company’s mobile payment system, is now available in the entire US.

Walmart Pay will now be available in all of the company’s 4,600 stores in the country, which can be accessed through the Walmart app on iOS or Android. The app currently has 20 million users, but that number is likely to expand rapidly now that it will be available nationwide. Walmart is promising that the payment system will make customers’ checkout experiences as efficient as possible.

The expansion of Walmart Pay comes at a time when consumers are increasing their usage of mobile payment systems, such as Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple Pay, or Android Pay, which allows for one’s phone to be a mobile wallet. Walmart Pay only works in Walmart stores, and the stores don’t allow for other types of mobile payment.

Walmart Pay works through a quick response (QR) code that a costumer pulls up on their app at time of payment, after which they enter a PIN and scan the QR code. A customer’s receipt is then sent directly to the app. The QR code-based payment system differs from that of Apple Pay and Android Pay, as they use a near-field communications (NFC) chip that allows for a customer to tap their phone at an NFC-enabled register.

Walmart is the only retailer with a proprietary mobile app payment system, and Walmart Pay supports all debit and credit cards, as well as prepaid Walmart gift cards.

Bottom Line

This most recent move from Walmart to improve its business model technologically could be seen as a way to keep up with the times. Consumers are increasingly shopping online, but those who do still shop in retail stores are looking for companies to improve checkout times and convenience. As mentioned the Walmart app currently has 20 million users, and it will be interesting to see just how many more are added as Walmart Pay attracts the retailer’s customers to use the platform.