Walmart Bounces Back from MCX Failure

After a failed attempt to develop mobile payment method Current C as part of a consortium of retailers dubbed the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), Walmart is finding success in its individual venture.The retailer's own mobile payment solution, Walmart Pay, has nearly surpassed Apple Pay for mobile payments in the U.S. in terms of use by shoppers in stores where they’re accepted, said Daniel Eckert, Walmart's senior vice president for services and digital acceleration.In an interview with Bloomberg, Eckert said the retailer is enrolling tens of thousands of new Walmart Pay users a day — up from thousands several months prior — and that two-thirds of users employ it a second time within 21 days.Walmart is the biggest retailer to eschew Apple Pay, which this year beat out PayPal as the most accepted mobile payment system among U.S. retailers, according to research from Boston Retailer Partners (BRP). Apple Pay is accepted at retailers including Whole Foods, Walgreens, Best Buy, Albertsons, BJ's Wholesale Club, Meijer, Office Depot, Staples and Petco.While fragmented acceptance among merchants has contributed to lagging consumer adoption of mobile payments in the U.S. — particularly for in-store transactions — both Walmart and Apple are pursuing what is expected to be a lucrative market.The mass merchant has two major advantages as a retailer: the ability to couch its solution in a mobile application offering additional value and control of communication in its checkout areas. “One of the critical factors for any mobile payment success going forward is education. We have found repeatedly that not only are consumers unsure of how and when mobile payments can be used but, even more telling, associates are unsure,” BRP said. “For mobile payments or mobile wallets to succeed, there must be further education at the point of sale to ensure that a transaction using a mobile device is not longer or more complicated than traditional payment methods for either the customer or associate.”Walmart has been promoting its solution in stores since its launch with checkout signs as well as Smart Network ads. If Walmart Pay reaches critical mass, the retailer should be able to leverage it to help track consumer behavior and target specific shoppers both in-store and online. (Apple reportedly doesn't track individual transactions.)

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