Walmart's Apple Pay competitor uses QR codes

Walmart's Apple Pay competitor uses QR codes - Walmart is finally jumping into the mobile payments game.

The retailer unveiled Walmart Pay, a new mobile payments system that allows shoppers to pay for in-store purchases via Walmart's iOS and Android app. The payments system will begin to roll out to some stores Thursday.

Rather than using near field communication (NFC), the technology Apple Pay, Android Pay and other "tap to pay" systems rely on, Walmart Pay enables payments by scanning QR codes at point of sale terminals in the store. 

You can link the Walmart app to your credit, debit or gift card and connect your Walmart account. You also have to set a 4-digit passcode (or use Touch ID, if you have an iPhone) to authenticate purchases. Once set up, you can pay for purchases in the checkout line by selecting Walmart Pay from the app's "Shop" menu.

Image: Walmart

Though the process isn't as simple to setup and use as Apple Pay or Android Pay, Walmart says it already has 22 million people who use its app every month, so it's not entirely surprising the company would opt to build payments into its own app. The retailer also notes that since its system relies on a smartphone's camera, rather than an NFC chip, it's compatible with a larger number of devices (Apple added NFC capabilities beginning with the iPhone 6 and many lower end Android handsets don't support the feature either.)

Walmart, notably, is also part of a group of major retailers that have rejected Apple Pay. Walmart, CVS, RiteAid and others are members of a group called Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), which has been a proponent of its own QR code-based mobile payments technology called CurrentC, which retailers favor because it allows them to avoid credit card processing fees.

Though Walmart Pay also uses QR codes, a Walmart representative tells Mashable its payments technology was developed by the company independently. (CurrentC, by the way, which was originally slated for a 2015 rollout, is currently being tested in an open pilot program in Columbus, Ohio. Recode reports a broader launch will likely be delayed until 2016.) 

Walmart Pay is beginning to roll out Thursday to stores in select cities - the company declined to names which ones - with a broader rollout expected in "the first half" of 2016. Source: Mashable

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