Walmart Embraces Contactless Payments in a Major Shift Customers Have Long Anticipated

Walmart and Sam's Club have initiated a significant change by starting to accept contactless payments in select stores across the United States as of this Monday. This marks a historic shift for the world's largest retail chain, which had resisted adopting this technology for more than a decade.

The company made this announcement in an official statement released last Friday.

"We wanted to provide customers and partners with options for payment, enabling them to choose the method that best suits their needs," Walmart stated in their announcement.

Understanding Contactless Payment at Walmart

The newly introduced system, known as Tap to Pay, allows shoppers to complete their purchases by simply tapping their phone, smartwatch, or enabled card on a payment terminal—no app opening or code scanning required.

Accepted methods include Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other compatible digital wallets, along with credit and debit cards equipped with NFC technology. Additionally, customers can add their Walmart, Sam's Club, and OnePay cards to digital wallets like Google Wallet or Apple Wallet for contactless use.

Walmart has not disclosed the initial locations or cities where the service will be rolled out, according to Axios, citing a company spokesperson.

A Long-Awaited Decision by Customers

This decision concludes a resistance that lasted over a decade. Walmart co-founded the Merchant Customer Exchange consortium in 2012, which developed CurrentC, a QR code-based system intended to compete with Apple Pay and bypass card network fees. However, the system failed to gain traction and was discontinued in 2016.

Following that, Walmart pushed its own Walmart Pay system, also based on QR codes scanned through a mobile app. This approach faced frequent complaints from shoppers, especially since Apple Pay had become available in over 85% of U.S. retailers, according to Apple data reported by CBS News.

Timeline for Nationwide Availability

The expansion plan includes two phases. The first phase aims to have the service available in all Walmart and Sam's Club locations nationwide by the end of 2026. The second phase will extend the technology to the gas stations of both chains by mid-2027.

Tap to Pay will not replace existing payment methods but will be an additional option. Customers can still pay with cash, physical cards, or via Walmart Pay. At Sam's Club, the Scan & Go system—which lets customers scan items and pay through the app without visiting the checkout counter—will also remain available.

"It's all about offering more choices to our customers and partners, making everyday shopping a bit easier, from managing their finances to checking out," the company expressed.

Walmart's Era of Transformation

The adoption of contactless payment comes at a time of significant changes for the chain. Walmart recently announced plans to use part of the tariff refunds it received to lower prices in its stores. Additionally, it has begun making deliveries by drone in Florida, as part of its strategy to modernize the shopping experience.

By embracing Tap to Pay, Walmart addresses a technological gap that had set it apart unfavorably from other U.S. retailers—a gap that its customers had long pointed out as a deficiency.