Apple Pay, a leading mobile payment method worldwide, has been widely accepted at most contactless terminals—except at Walmart for over a decade. Now, Walmart is changing course. When Apple Pay debuted in 2014, it revolutionized mobile payments, allowing users to pay easily with their smartphones. However, Walmart resisted adopting Apple Pay, partly because Apple Pay’s strong privacy protections limited Walmart’s ability to collect customer data. Instead, Walmart initially backed CurrentC, a competitor payment system that ultimately failed. Walmart then launched its own Walmart Pay in 2016, allowing it to track customer spending more effectively. Despite this, Walmart held off on adopting NFC-based tap-to-pay solutions like Apple Pay and Google Pay—until now.
Recently, Walmart announced it will begin supporting tap-to-pay, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay, starting in select stores and expanding to all Walmart and Sam’s Club locations by the end of 2026. Walmart will continue to offer Walmart Pay alongside these new options, aiming to give customers more payment choices and make shopping more convenient. A major factor driving this change appears to be customer demand, as users increasingly expect to pay using mobile wallets integrated into their smartphones.
