- Walmart is rolling out Tap to Pay at select Walmart and Sam’s Club locations.
- These locations will support contactless cards, phones, and smartwatches, including Apple Pay and Google Pay.
- Tap to Pay rollout began on August 24 and is expected to reach all U.S. Walmart and Sam’s Club stores by the end of 2026, with fuel stations following by mid-2027.
For years, Walmart shoppers have been limited to Walmart Pay as their only contactless payment option. But that’s finally about to change.
Walmart began rolling out Tap to Pay at select Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations, allowing shoppers to pay with contactless cards, phones, and smartwatches—including Apple Pay and Google Pay.
The long-awaited change means shoppers will finally be able to hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near a payment terminal to check out, rather than relying on Walmart Pay or another payment method. Google Pay users will also be able to tap their phones at participating locations. Walmart will continue to offer its existing payment options, including cash, credit cards and Walmart Pay.
And while tap-to-pay might seem like a relatively small addition, it marks a major shift for the retail giant. Walmart has historically been one of the biggest holdouts on contactless payments, instead encouraging shoppers to use its own Walmart Pay system, which requires customers to scan a QR code through the Walmart app at checkout.
In fact, Walmart’s resistance to Apple Pay goes back more than a decade. The retailer previously joined other major merchants in supporting CurrentC, a mobile payment system that was positioned as an alternative to Apple Pay. But the system was ultimately shut down in 2016.
Meanwhile, Apple Pay has become increasingly common among U.S. retailers. The payment service is now accepted at about 85% of retailers nationwide, making Walmart’s decision to hold out particularly noticeable to shoppers.
Walmart says the decision is ultimately about giving customers more checkout options.
“Tap to Pay is a great addition to the other payment options already offered, like cash, credit card, or Walmart Pay,” the company said in an announcement. “And giving customers and members more choice at checkout is part of a broader effort to make managing and using their money easier.”
When will Tap to Pay be available at Walmart?
The rollout began on August 24, but it’s not happening everywhere at once. Walmart hasn’t publicly shared a complete list of the stores that will receive Tap to Pay first, so shoppers may have to wait a little longer to tap their phone at their local Walmart. The retailer plans to bring the payment option to all U.S. Walmart and Sam’s Club locations by the end of 2026, with its fuel stations expected to get the feature by mid-2027.
For anyone who has ever stood at a Walmart checkout with their phone in hand, only to remember Apple Pay isn’t an option, the change is likely to be welcome. And after years of holding out, Walmart is finally catching up with the tap-to-pay trend.
Rosamelia is a writer at Good Housekeeping, covering everything related to Gen Z, lifestyle, and online trends. She’s a graduate of NYU's Magazine and Digital Storytelling program. In her free time, you can find her reading and reviewing books on her bookstagram: amelias_biblioteca.
