Bloomberg : ‘Walmart Pay Threatens to Surpass Apple in U.S. Mobile Payments’

Olga Kharif and Matthew Boyle, reporting for Bloomberg:

Available in 4,774 stores, Walmart Pay is enrolling tens of thousands of new users a day, up from thousands four or five months ago, said Daniel Eckert, who runs the business. Two-thirds of the customers who try it also use it a second time within 21 days, he said, giving him confidence Walmart Pay will surpass Apple Pay in the U.S. in terms of use by shoppers in stores where they’re accepted.

“If daily enrollments don’t slow down, I think that’s pretty well in the cards shortly,” said Eckert, senior vice president for services and digital acceleration. “I would have to imagine we are getting pretty close.”

Richard Crone, chief executive officer of researcher Crone Consulting LLC, estimates Walmart will pass Apple Pay in active U.S. users — those making at least two transactions a month — by the end of 2018.

What this guy Crone is saying is that Walmart Pay will surpass Apple Pay in active users — which, I think, is a legitimate metric for comparison. But what about total transactions? I make way more than two transactions per month with Apple Pay. And what about total revenue?

But the numbers from Eckert, Walmart’s executive, are downright misleading: “in terms of use by shoppers in stores where they’re accepted” is a bizarre choice for the denominator in this comparison. There seems to be no question here that Walmart Pay is a success, but I think by the metrics most people would choose, it’s not set to “surpass” Apple Pay in the U.S. (And this whole story is about the U.S. only — Apple Pay seems to be doing well worldwide.)

★ Tuesday, 7 November 2017