Target launches mobile wallet

Following in the footsteps of Walmart and CVS, Target has become the latest American retail giant to launch its own mobile payments service.

The firm has added a wallet feature to it Android and iOS apps. Customers with Target-branded REDcard credit and debit cards can add them to the wallet and then pay at the checkout by scanning a QR code.

The app also integrates with Target’s Cartwheel offers and Weekly Ad coupons, letting users redeem them with a scan of a barcode.

Mike McNamara, chief information and digital officer, Target, says: “Guests are going to love the convenience of having payment, Cartwheel offers, Weekly Ad coupons and GiftCards all in one place with Wallet.”

Target was one of the driving forces behind MCX, a QR code-based mobile wallet joint venture with other retail giants such as Walmart, CVS and 7-Eleven that hoped to bypass credit cards, reducing fees.

MCX mothballed its CurrentC app last year but Walmart, CVS and now Target are still betting on the barcode technology, rather than the NFC favoured by Apple, Google and Samsung.