The move ends the last major contactless payments holdout in the US, with Walmart finally enabling customers to tap their cards, as well as use Apple Pay and Google Pay, for purchases, rather than having to enter a PIN.
Walmart statement
When we think about convenience, we think about a lot of things, but making shopping feel simpler and more seamless from start to finish is a big part. And one of the moments where that matters most is at checkout.
We want customers and members to have choice in how they pay, so they can check out in the way that works best for them. Now, beginning Aug. 24, we will be adding Tap to Pay to our payment options at select Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations, with plans to roll it out to all U.S. stores and clubs by the end of 2026 and to fuel stations by mid-2027.
Tap to Pay gives customers and members another familiar and convenient way to pay at checkout using contactless payment methods. Whether picking up groceries, gifts or everyday essentials, they can check out using eligible contactless card, phone, or smartwatch. Customers and members can also add their eligible Walmart, Sam’s Club and OnePay cards to their digital wallets, giving them another convenient way to use their cards.
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. At Sam’s Club, members can also use Scan & Go to scan and pay as they shop, skipping the traditional checkout line.
And giving customers and members more choice at checkout is part of a broader effort to make managing and using their money easier. Walmart’s financial services help customers and members manage their money and everyday financial needs, including options to save, build credit and pay over time. At Sam’s Club, members have access to Sam’s Cash and Sam’s Club credit, with opportunities to earn Sam’s Cash through qualifying purchases and programs.
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.
Walmart’s long-held refusal to offer contactless stems from its decision a decade ago to take on Apple Pay with its own QR code-based option. In the 2010s, the company was one of the driving forces behind MCX, a QR code-based mobile wallet joint venture with other retail giants such as Target, CVS and 7-Eleven that hoped to bypass credit cards, reducing fees.
However, as that venture stalled, in 2015 it decided to go it alone, rolling out its own Walmart Pay in hundreds of stores. This enabled the company to keep payments within its own ecosystem, helping it with gathering consumer data and potentially reducing fees.
Despite its tardiness on a now ubiquitous payment method, Walmart has a long history of financial services innovation and its own fintech unit, OnePay, which offers a host of banking, credit, and payments products, according to Finextra.
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