Walmart Ends Decade-Long NFC Holdout, Opening Its Checkout Lanes to Apple Pay and Google Pay
Walmart Ends Decade-Long NFC Holdout, Opening Its Checkout Lanes to Apple Pay and Google Pay #
After more than a decade of refusing NFC-based mobile payments, Walmart has reversed course, announcing that Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Wallet, and other tap-to-pay options will be accepted at its U.S. stores and Sam’s Club warehouse clubs.
The company disclosed the change in a press release on August 21, confirming that the rollout would begin at select Walmart and Sam’s Club locations starting August 24. Walmart expects to extend the capability to every U.S. store and Sam’s Club by the end of 2026, with fuel stations at both banners to follow by mid-2027.
Shoppers will be able to complete purchases by holding an eligible contactless credit or debit card, smartphone, or smartwatch over the payment terminal. Existing payment methods, including cash, chip cards, Walmart Pay, and Sam’s Club’s Scan & Go feature, will continue to be accepted alongside the new options.
The decision is a reversal for a company that had been among the most prominent holdouts against third-party contactless payments since Apple Pay launched in 2014. At that time, Walmart was part of a consortium of large retailers, known as the Merchant Customer Exchange, that backed a rival system called CurrentC. Designed around QR codes rather than NFC technology, in part to sidestep transaction fees paid to card networks, CurrentC suffered a data breach before its public launch and never gained widespread adoption, shutting down in 2016. Rather than embrace NFC at that point, Walmart built and promoted its own proprietary Walmart Pay, a QR-code digital wallet embedded in its app.
Walmart has offered no official explanation for the change. Analysts and technology reporters have attributed it to the company’s weaker-than-expected recent earnings and a declining stock price, along with the fact that tap-to-pay has become standard across large-format retail. The company’s stock fell sharply following its most recent earnings release, reported the same week as the announcement.
As the largest retailer in the world by revenue, Walmart’s acceptance of NFC closes a conspicuous gap in Apple Pay and Google Pay coverage among major U.S. chains. Customers who shop Walmart and Sam’s Club for groceries and household staples will soon be able to check out using only their phone or watch, years after most competing retailers made the same option available.
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