Walmart Finally Accepts Apple Pay and Google Pay — Faster Checkout

Walmart just joined the modern payment world. Starting today, you can tap your iPhone or Android phone at checkout to pay using Apple Pay, Google Pay, or any contactless credit card. Walmart was the last major holdout, refusing for years to accept this technology. Instead, it made customers use its own Walmart Pay app, which requires scanning a QR code and digging through the app to find the payment option.

Why does this matter to you? Tapping your phone is faster than pulling out a card — and more secure. When you tap, your real card number is replaced by a one-time code that only your bank can unlock. Even if Walmart gets hacked, thieves can't steal your actual payment information. It's the same protection you already get at millions of other stores that made the switch years ago.

So why did Walmart finally give in? Money and data. Walmart built its own payment system to avoid the small processing fees charged by Apple and Google, and to collect valuable data about what you buy. Those fees add up when you sell billions of dollars of merchandise. But consumer pressure won out: more than 85% of US retailers already accept tap-to-pay, and shoppers expect it.

Walmart Pay isn't going away. You'll still see QR codes at registers, and Walmart will likely sweeten the deal to keep you using its app — like the 3-cents-off-per-gallon gas discount it already offers. But if you just want to pay quickly and securely, you can finally leave the Walmart app in your pocket.