Walmart Will Finally Accept Tap-to-Pay in Stores
Walmart announced on Friday it will finally accept Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other tap-to-pay methods at its U.S. stores after holding out for over a decade, reports Yahoo Finance. Starting this past Monday, Aug. 24, Walmart and Sam's Club rolled out tap-to-pay options at select locations, allowing shoppers to pay with contactless cards, smartphones, or smartwatches.
Walmart plans to roll the feature out to all U.S. stores and clubs by the end of 2026, and to fuel stations by mid-2027. Customers and members can also add their eligible Walmart, Sam's Club, and OnePay cards to their digital wallets. The retailer said Tap to Pay will sit alongside existing payment methods, including cash, credit cards and Walmart Pay.
Total Retail's Take: As a frequent Walmart store shopper myself, I've noticed the glaring lack of tap-to-pay options at checkout and often wondered when the company would catch up with its competitors in this arena. Walmart has put off adopting tap-to-pay for years, even though the vast majority of retailers accept it. Instead, the retailer has tried to steer customers toward alternative payment methods such as Walmart Pay and Sam's Club's Scan-and-Go, partly to circumvent credit and debit card payment fees.
Walmart's move comes as more Americans embrace mobile payments. The share of U.S. consumers who made mobile payments at the register more than doubled between 2021 and 2025, and 70 percent of all mobile payments that U.S. consumers made at the register were tap-to-pay, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
According to a company press release, Walmart wants "customers and members to have choice in how they pay, so they can check out in the way that works best for them." All Walmart shoppers will be able to take advantage of these seamless payment methods by the end of the year.
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Kristina Stidham is the digital content director at Total Retail and sister brands Women in Retail Leadership Circle and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality at NAPCO Media. She is passionate about digital media and handles video, podcast and virtual event production for all brands. You can often find her at WIRLC, TR, WLT&H or industry events with her camera and podcasting equipment—or at home on Zoom—recording interviews with thought leaders and business executives.
Kristina holds a B.A. in Media Studies and Production from the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. Go Owls! When she's not in the office, she loves to go on long walks, sing around the house, hangout with her family and two pet guinea pigs, and travel to new places.
