Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today.

Apple Pay Walmart Feature
A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient payment technologies available in the Walmart app, including Walmart Pay and Mobile Scan & Go.

Walmart Pay allows customers to scan a QR code displayed at checkout to pay for their purchase with a payment card stored in the Walmart app. Scan & Go allows Walmart+ members to save time by scanning barcodes on items while they shop, rather than having to scan all of the items at a self-checkout register later.

The spokesperson said the following statement still stands:

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 allow Sam's Club and Walmart+ members to bypass the checkout altogether, providing a truly touchless shopping experience.

Apple Pay launched more than 10 years ago, and it was accepted at more than 90 percent of U.S. retailers as of 2022, according to Apple. Some other major Apple Pay holdouts in the U.S. have reversed course and started accepting it over the past few years, including The Home Depot, Lowe's, Kroger, and Texas grocery store chain H-E-B, leaving Walmart as one of the country's only major retailers not to accept Apple Pay.

Walmart has accepted Apple Pay in Canada since 2020.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: Walmart

Popular Stories

Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature

Apple Announces Special Event in New York, London, and Shanghai on March 4

Monday February 16, 2026 6:05 am PST by
Apple today announced a "special Apple Experience" in New York, London, and Shanghai, taking place on March 4, 2026 at 9:00am ET. Apple invited select members of the media to the event in three major cities around the world. It is simply described as a "special Apple Experience," and there is no further information about what it may entail. The invitation features a 3D Apple logo design...
Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature 1

Apple Event on March 4: Here's What to Expect

Tuesday February 17, 2026 8:08 am PST by
Apple on Monday invited selected journalists and content creators to a "special Apple Experience" on Wednesday, March 4 in New York, London, and Shanghai. At an Apple Experience, attendees are typically given the opportunity to try out Apple's latest hardware or software. Following the launch of Apple Creator Studio last month, for example, some content creators attended an Apple Experience...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

iOS 26.4's New CarPlay Video Feature Shown in Action

Wednesday February 18, 2026 9:29 am PST by
Back at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that it was planning to allow CarPlay users to watch video via AirPlay in their vehicles while they are not driving, and the first beta of iOS 26.4 suggests the feature may be nearing availability. There are several new references to CarPlay video streaming functionality within the iOS 26.4 beta's source code. The feature is not yet visible to users, but...
Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature 1

Rumor: Apple to Announce Multiple New Products in First Week of March

Tuesday February 17, 2026 6:35 pm PST by
Apple on Monday invited selected journalists and content creators to a "special Apple Experience" on Wednesday, March 4 in New York, London, and Shanghai. And now, rumors are surfacing about Apple's broader plans for that week. Daring Fireball's John Gruber today guessed that Apple will announce new products on a day-by-day basis from Monday, March 2 through Wednesday, March 4:What strikes...
Multicolored Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature

Low-Cost MacBook Expected on March 4 in These Colors

Wednesday February 18, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple will announce its rumored low-cost MacBook at its event on March 4, with the device coming in a selection of bold color options, according to a known leaker. Earlier this week, Apple announced a "special Apple Experience" for the media in New York, London, and Shanghai, taking place on March 4, 2026 at 9:00am ET. Posting on Weibo, the leaker known as "Instant Digital" said that the...

Top Rated Comments

14 months ago
The entire plan for them is to get you to ACH / DEBIT card to them so that they can pay 0 fees. They want you the customer to take on all fraud risks and thus have no fee to the vendor.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
14 months ago
Walmart: Give us access to your bank account and then you can fail to load the barcode in the Walmart app because the building is a farady cage. That's so much easier than tap to pay!
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
14 months ago

They don't want to pay credit card fees if they can help it. Their entire statement avoids that simple fact.
Walmart also cannot track customer purchases as easily as they can with Walmart Pay.

Walmart is large enough of a company that they can easily push back against customer requests to be able to use Apple Pay.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
14 months ago
They don't want to pay credit card fees if they can help it. Their entire statement avoids that simple fact.

Their Scan & Go tech worked to pay by card at Sam's Club last time I used it. If they turned that off they did so on purpose. They could easily integrate it with Apple Pay but choose not to.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Capeto Avatar
14 months ago

The reason is Walmart cannot track customer purchases like they can with Walmart Pay.

Walmart is large enough of a company that they can easily push back against customer requests to be able to use Apple Pay.
Ding ding ding! It’s all about being able to collect data on you and your purchases.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GMShadow Avatar
14 months ago
Remember when they were part of that hilariously bad CurrentC scheme and tried to get a bunch of other retailers in on it?
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)