Walmart continues to stand firm on its decision not to accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the United States. The retailer reiterated its stance despite the widespread adoption of contactless payment methods. A spokesperson for Walmart stated that their focus remains on promoting their proprietary payment technologies available within the Walmart app, such as Walmart Pay and Mobile Scan & Go.
These solutions are designed to offer convenience and touchless payment options for customers. Walmart Pay allows customers to scan a QR code displayed at checkout to pay with a payment card stored in the Walmart app.
Walmart’s commitment to proprietary payments
Scan & Go enables Walmart+ members to scan barcodes on items as they shop, eliminating the need to scan all items later at a self-checkout register,” the spokesperson explained. The spokesperson emphasized: “We do not accept NFC and instead have implemented convenient solutions, such as Walmart Pay, that provide our customers easy, touchless payments on any smartphone. We have also invested in innovative technologies that go beyond payments, such as Scan & Go, which allows Sam’s Club and Walmart+ members to bypass the checkout altogether, providing a truly touchless shopping experience.”
Apple Pay, launched in 2014, is now accepted at over 90 percent of U.S. retailers as of 2022.
Despite this, Walmart remains one of the few major holdouts, although it has accepted Apple Pay in Canada since 2020. While many major retailers in the U.S. have embraced Apple Pay and other NFC payment methods, Walmart has chosen to focus on its own payment systems to enhance customer experience and streamline shopping processes. Whether this stance will change in the future remains to be seen, but for now, Walmart shoppers in the U.S. will need to use Walmart Pay or other traditional payment methods.
