It has merely been a month since Apple Pay went live and already the new payments service has been embraced by dozens of banks and retailers in the U.S. There is a group of big retailers that is blocking Apple Pay in favor of CurrentC, a similar mobile payments service that they themselves have developed. Walmart is one of those retailers and it reportedly has a big reason for keeping Apple Pay out of its retail locations.
According to a report by Re/code, high credit card transaction fees are keeping Walmart from accepting Apple Pay. Apparently the retailer holds the view that this fees, which merchants have to pay to banks when a card in swiped in their stores, happens to be too high.
Walmart finds a better alternative in CurrentC which offers payment options that have lower transaction fees as opposed to credit cards. On the other hand Apple Pay supports both MasterCard and Visa, which Walmart and other CurrentC backers, believe sets fees that are too high. This goes against their aim to changing the payments fee structure.
CurrentC offers other options which includes connection with a customer’s checking account or transactions that can be funded through store-branded cards, thus reducing fees.
These retailers may open up to Apple Pay eventually, pressure from customers can be a major factor. A class action lawsuit has also been filed against some retailers who are blocking Apple Pay. This fight is far from over.
Update: Walmart got in touch with us and refuted the report, saying that it is open to different payment options “that would provide consumers with the greatest shopping experience.” The retailer says that it is not accepting Apple Pay at this time because this service relies on NFC and Walmart doesn’t have NFC-capable terminals in all of its stores.