Target launches its own in-app mobile payments system on iOS and Android with debut of Wallet feature
Context & Ripple Effects
This closes a two-year loop: Reuters reported back in December 2015 that Target was in initial development of its own mobile wallet, and the Wallet feature now shipping in Target's iOS and Android apps is the result. It lands Target squarely in the retailer-owned payments camp that Walmart staked out first with its own service announced the same month (Walmart Pay), followed by CVS Health's pharmacy-focused CVS Pay rollout across four states in 2016.
The pattern is consistent: large brick-and-mortar chains are building checkout inside their own apps rather than routing customers through third-party wallets, keeping the payment interaction — and the data and loyalty hooks attached to it — on their own platforms.
First-order effects
- Target shoppers on iOS and Android can now pay at checkout through the in-app Wallet feature instead of a card or a third-party wallet, putting the transaction inside Target's own app.
Second-order effects
- Walmart and CVS now have direct retail peers running proprietary wallets at scale, reinforcing their shared position against platform wallets and giving each chain a template for bundling payments with its own app engagement.
Third-order effects
- If the Walmart–CVS–Target pattern holds, major US retailers will treat in-app payments as standard infrastructure, shifting checkout power away from external wallet providers toward merchant-controlled apps.
The trend: Large US brick-and-mortar retailers are building their own mobile wallets one by one, consolidating checkout control inside their own apps.