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Walmart adds new mobile payment system – but it’s still not Apple Pay

Walmart continues to resist implementation of Apple Pay in its stores after Chase Bank announced the major retailer would be accepting the Chase Pay mobile payment system next year.

While it’s not a direct attack on Apple’s service, it joins another mobile payment system implemented at Walmart – its own Walmart Pay service, both of which are similary based on QR codes. But as more and more stores and banks offer support for Apple Pay, it’s become increasingly clear that there is some resistance from the United States’ largest retailer – both Chase Pay and Walmart Pay are far more complicated solutions than Apple Pay.

Apple Pay works by holding the device up to a reader and using a thumb or fingerprint to confirm the purchase.

Both Chase and Walmart’s solutions, on the other hand, require more steps. Though the apps operate using PIN codes and Touch ID, with gift cards or a credit card linked within the app, when making a purchase, the customer needs to locate and open the respective app, and snap a photo of a QR code to complete the transaction. A QR – or Quick Response Code – is a matrix barcode, already considered by many to be an outdated technology, replaced by Near-field communication (NFC), the technology Apple Pay uses to make contactless transactions.

In September it was reported that Apple Pay use had increased by 500 percent based on the same period of 2015.

Guide: How to set up and use Apple Pay