After years of refusing to support Apple Pay, Walmart is finally letting shoppers tap their iPhone or Apple Watch to pay.
So, shopping at the largest U.S. retailer is about to get easier. But don’t try it this weekend!
Walmart resisted Tap to Pay for years
Tap to Pay is about as convenient as paying for something gets. With Apple Pay, shoppers simply double-click the iPhone’s side button, authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID, then hold the phone near the payment terminal.
But Walmart refused to support Tap to Pay. And not just Apple’s version — it generally didn’t support NFC payments at all. That meant no Google Pay, Samsung Pay or even the simple act of tapping a contactless credit card.
Instead, the massive retailer pushed shoppers toward its own Walmart Pay system. This works through the Walmart app and requires customers to scan a QR code displayed by the checkout terminal rather than simply tapping a phone or card.
It finally, finally relented on Friday.
Walmart finally taps into Apple Pay
Walmart announced that it will begin rolling out Tap to Pay at select Walmart and Sam’s Club locations on Monday, August 24.
The retailer plans to bring contactless payments to all of its U.S. stores and clubs by the end of 2026, with its fuel stations scheduled to get the feature by mid-2027.
That means Apple Pay is finally coming to Walmart in the U.S., along with other contactless payment options. Shoppers will be able to use eligible contactless credit and debit cards, smartphones and smartwatches at supported checkout terminals.
It’s about time!
Apple Pay debuted in 2014, and Google Pay came a year later. Since then, contactless payment has become an extremely common way to pay at U.S. stores, yet one of America’s largest retailers still required shoppers to use a QR code or pull out a physical card.
Walmart shoppers repeatedly took to social media and customer forums to complain about discovering at checkout that they couldn’t use Apple Pay or a similar Tap To Pay system. Perhaps that pressure finally made the company relent.
Walmart follows in the footsteps of other major retailers that once resisted Apple’s payment system before throwing in the towel. Home Depot, Lowe’s, Kroger and H-E-B all held out before finally accepting Apple Pay.
