Walmart Adopts Tap to Pay After 11 Years of Resistance
Walmart is finally embracing tap to pay, a feature it has been refusing for over a decade. Starting Monday, shoppers at selected Walmart and Sam's Club locations can use contactless cards, phones, or smartwatches to make payments, with full rollout expected by the end of 2026. Fuel stations will follow in mid-2027.
While this may seem like a routine update, Walmart's history with tap to pay technology is noteworthy. Despite Apple Pay's launch in 2014, Walmart cut it off after a brief period and developed its own system, Walmart Pay, which relies on shoppers loading a card into the Walmart app and scanning a QR code.
The retailer's resistance went against the trend, as Apple Pay is now accepted by 85% of US retailers. Walmart's holdout status became particularly public last year when YouTuber MrBeast shared his experience of being unable to use tap to pay at a Walmart checkout.
The delay in adopting tap to pay was not due to a lack of suitable hardware; Walmart's terminals are capable of processing contactless card transactions. Instead, the company's reluctance stemmed from its desire to maintain customer data within its own system rather than sharing it with banks, as traditional card transactions do.
Walmart's U-Turn
Walmart's announcement does not explicitly name Apple Pay or Google Pay, but it confirms both are included in the new system. Google had already announced its integration with Walmart, while Apple has remained silent on the matter.
The introduction of tap to pay marks a significant change for Walmart, bringing it in line with many other retailers who have embraced contactless payments. This shift could enhance customer experience and expedite transactions, potentially increasing efficiency at checkouts.