The early days of any new technology are marked by companies competing to get their own versions of the tech into the hands of consumers. Years ago, companies made cell phones that used their own proprietary charger connectors; go back decades, and you’ll find companies that battled over home entertainment with different implementations of tape and disc technologies. It seems all but inevitable that big corporations will eventually lay down their swords, work together, and agree to adopt the same universal standard — though some companies are more stubborn than others.
Things are more or less the same when it comes to tap-and-go mobile-based payments, which are still something of a novelty when you look beyond Gen Z and tech enthusiasts. Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay are three popular tap-and-pay options all sequestered in their own walled gardens. You can’t use Apple Pay if you’re an Android user, you can’t use Samsung Pay if you have an iPhone, and amid all of this, you can’t use either option to shop at a business that has no interest in supporting them.
Rather than opening the doors to Apple Pay, Walmart has remained steadfast in its decision to exclude the iPhone-based tap-and-go payment service and instead hawk its own alternative called — you guessed it — Walmart Pay (via MacRumors). Anyone who has a smartphone can use Walmart Pay regardless of whether it’s an iPhone, a flagship Android model, or a budget-tier handset. However, Walmart Pay works in a fundamentally different way, and it forces customers to install yet another app on their phones.
