Walmart Expands its Investment in Technology With iPhone Payment System

Reuters reported that discount retailer Walmart WMT is testing a new Apple AAPL iPhone based payment system at an Arkansas store. The new offering will allow customers to scan barcodes while they shop, and then transfer their cart to a self checkout station where they will pay. That's all that is currently known, but the prospect of mobile payments breaking into such a major retailer as Walmart is exciting. Walmart's move into mobile payments comes as little surprise following Starbucks' SBUX announcement in early August that it will begin using Square, a mobile based payment system, in its storefronts. Retail stores have been slow to adopt mobile payment systems, but with Walmart and Starbucks leading the charge, investors can expect this to be a growing trend. Earlier in the week, Walmart announced a new native search engine called Polaris. The offering allows its customers to find products much more easily, and has reportedly increased online purchases 10-15 percent. It's clear the discount retailer is looking to take its business to a new level, and is seriously investing in technical improvements. Walmart also announced a mobile wallet offering, moving them into the same space as Google GOOG and multitude of other competitors. The company plans to partner with other major retailers like Target TGT, Best Buy BBY, and Seven Eleven for the offering. With investments in mobile payments, a mobile wallet system, and heavy upgrades to its search engine, it looks like Walmart is gearing up for a clash with Amazon AMZN. While the internet retailer is nearly untouchable in the webspace currently, Walmart's considerable brand awareness from its brick and mortar business could fuel competition. The moves by Walmart may have the reigning ecommerce champ looking over its shoulder quite soon. Shares of Walmart traded up Friday roughly 0.66 percent around $72.69.