Walmart is ending its long holdout against mainstream mobile wallets. The retailer said it would begin accepting contactless payments, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, at select Walmart and Sam’s Club locations starting Aug. 24, and expand the option nationwide by the end of 2026, TechRepublic reported. Tap-to-pay at fuel pumps is expected by mid-2027.
The upgraded point-of-sale terminals will take Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, contactless credit and debit cards and supported contactless EBT cards.
A Phased Rollout
According to a memo obtained by 9to5Mac, the rollout follows a state-by-state schedule. It began in Arkansas from Aug. 24 to 31, moves to West Coast markets in early September and then covers the rest of the country in phases through mid-October.
Why It Took So Long
Walmart has resisted NFC-based mobile wallets for more than a decade. Its 2016 attempt to build a rival through the merchant consortium CurrentC collapsed, and since then the company has steered shoppers to Walmart Pay, which requires opening the Walmart app and scanning a QR code at checkout. Apple has cited industry figures showing that tap-to-pay acceptance has reached roughly 85% of U.S. retailers, which left Walmart’s QR-only approach as a growing source of friction for shoppers used to tapping a phone everywhere else.
Walmart Pay is not going away. The company described tap-to-pay as an addition to cash, cards and Walmart Pay. Its own system keeps payment activity inside Walmart’s ecosystem and ties into features such as electronic receipts and Walmart+ fuel savings, and Sam’s Club continues to offer Scan & Go.
What It Means for Retail Payments
The change closes one of the most visible gaps in U.S. mobile wallet acceptance. For Apple and Google, it adds the country’s largest retailer to the list of places their wallets work. For Walmart, the bet is that offering the payment methods shoppers already use will reduce checkout friction, while Walmart Pay’s tie-ins to receipts and membership perks give loyal customers a reason to keep using it.
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