Apple Pay is one of the most popular mobile payment methods in the world. You can use it nearly anywhere where there is a mobile payment terminal. But for well over a decade, one major retailer—Walmart—would not support Apple Pay. Now that’s changing. Here’s what you need to know.
Walmart announces tap-to-pay support
When Apple launched Apple Pay in 2014, it kicked off the mobile payment boom. For the first time since the smartphone era began in 2007 with the launch of the iPhone, users could finally use their device to easily pay for goods at any properly equipped contactless payment terminal.
But with Apple Pay’s launch and its popularity, other tech companies quickly entered the mobile payments arena. This included Samsung’s Samsung Pay and Google’s Android Pay, now known as Google Pay.
But while the tech giants all quickly adopted tap-to-pay technology in their phones—and many retailers quickly moved to support the tech—there were some big holdouts. The most notable of those was Walmart.
For America’s big box retail giant, and other retailers who initially held out, the fact that Apple Pay went to great lengths to protect users’ privacy and payment data hindered the retailers’ ability to build profiles around their customers.
As an alternative, several retailers, initially including Walmart, tried to launch a competing Apple Pay service known as CurrentC. That payment service was plagued by technical difficulties and used QR codes instead of NFC to process payments.
Walmart ultimately left the CurrentC consortium and launched its own mobile payments platform, Walmart Pay, in 2016. (CurrentC shut down that same year.)
But since the launch of Walmart Pay, which allows the company to track spending data around its customers, Walmart has not adopted tap-to-pay solutions like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Until now.
Apple Pay and Google Pay coming to Walmart stores
Today, Walmart announced that it will begin rolling out tap-to-pay in select stores and Sam’s Club locations next week.
The payment solution, which encompasses most NFC-enabled payment platforms like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay, will be available in all Walmart and Sam’s Club stores by the end of 2026, according to the company.
Fast Company has reached out to Walmart for comment.
Is Walmart Pay being discontinued?
No. While Walmart will finally support Apple Pay and Google Pay, it is not retiring its own proprietary payment solution.
“Tap to Pay is a great addition to the other payment options already offered like cash, credit card or Walmart Pay—where customers can use the Walmart app to pay, view purchases and receipts, as well as access Walmart+ fuel savings,” Walmart said in a press release.
Why is Walmart finally supporting Apple Pay?
In its announcement, which did not mention Apple Pay by name, Walmart said the “Tap to Pay gives customers and members another familiar and convenient way to pay at checkout using contactless payment methods.”
The company added, “It all comes back to giving customers and members more choice and making everyday shopping a little easier—from how they manage their money to how they pay at checkout.”
Of course, another likely big driver behind the decision is the fact that the company’s customers have been very vocal about their unhappiness with America’s largest physical retailer’s refusal to support a payment technology now built into nearly every smartphone sold in the country.
