In a sign that the mobile payments market is still in its infancy, Walmart appears to be taking an approach that many issuers are also taking which is to align and integrate with as many of the current mobile payment players as possible until such time that a winning or dominant solution emerges. Fortune reports that Walmart is having conversations with several mobile wallet providers even after the roll out of its own Walmart Pay and an announced partnership with Chase Pay:
Walmart is in talks with several mobile wallet companies to offer more payment options in its Walmart Pay app, an executive at the world’s largest retailer said, after signing up J.P. Morgan Chase last week.
One reason for the outreach to be more inclusive is that the mobile payment environment has been unpredictable, including who the primary users are. Many have adopted mobile payments and mobile payments marketing thinking that millennials will be the primary users:
Daniel Eckert, senior vice-president of services at Walmart U.S., said in an interview late on Friday that the retailer would tweak its marketing for the app after the most frequent users turned out to be Gen X customers, born from 1965 to 1967, and baby boomers born from 1946 to 1964.
“The target demographic during the launch of a technology product tends to be younger, more male, so we have had that target market in mind,” Eckert said.
Some early data on Walmart Pay use was also included:
Eckert also said more than 90% of transactions on the app involve customers are using the service more than three to four times a month. He declined to give the overall number of users who use Walmart Pay.
Walmart Pay was launched in December 2015 and can be used in all of the retailer’s 4,600 U.S. stores. Customers at the checkout counter must choose the payment option within the app on their smartphone, and activate the camera to scan the code at the register. An e-receipt is sent to the app.
Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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