Walmart is one of the most popular stores in the United States.
It offers low-cost items and tons of deals and specials that allow you to save even more money.
If you’re a frequent shopper at Walmart and recently received an iPhone, then you may wonder if you can use your Apple Pay account to make purchases there.
Since Apple Pay is contactless, the last thing you want to do is show up without a secondary form of payment if Walmart doesn’t accept Apple Pay.
As such, it’s worth knowing what payment methods Walmart accepts.
Does Walmart take Apple Pay?
The simple answer is, "no" you cannot use Apple Pay at Walmart. Despite the superstore giant accepting several different payment methods, it does not list Apple Pay as one of the ways that customers can make payments.
As such, if you have an Apple Pay account, then you shouldn’t expect to be able to use it at Walmart or on Walmart.com.
Ever since Apple Pay was introduced in 2014, frequent Walmart shoppers have asked the company time and time again to add it to its list of accepted payment methods, but Walmart has continued to ignore it. In fact, Walmart doesn’t accept Google Pay, Samsung Pay, or any other mobile payment methods. Instead, it prefers to push its own internal mobile payment app: Walmart Pay.
Why Walmart does not accept Apple Pay
Apple Pay is a contactless form of payment. It lets you make mobile purchases using your existing credit cards. Just load your credit cards into the Apple Wallet app on your iPhone, and you can complete purchases in seconds without ever pulling your wallet or credit cards out of your pocket.
Since Apple Pay makes the buying experience faster and more convenient, you may wonder why Walmart hasn’t adopted the technology.
Numerous complaints across X lament the lack of integration, illustrating the extent to which customers are hankering for the service. Given the popularity of Apple Pay, it is hardly surprising that people are requesting its functionality at the biggest retailer in the world, boasting nearly 5,000 branches in the US alone.
Here are some of the reasons why Walmart doesn’t accept Apple Pay.
1. Walmart Pay
The primary reason why Walmart doesn’t accept Apple Pay is that it has its own digital mobile payment system known as Walmart Pay, integrated with the Walmart app.
Just like Apple Pay, Walmart Pay lets you pay for in-store purchases using your smartphone without bringing cash or using a card.
Unlike Apple Pay and a number of other mobile payment methods, it doesn’t use near-field communication (NFC), the protocol that allows devices in close proximity to instantly connect and transfer data wirelessly, instead, requiring users to scan a QR code at the checkout.
You simply sign up for Walmart Pay through your Walmart account on the Walmart app or Walmart.com.
Then you enter the payment methods that you want to connect to your Walmart Pay account.
When it’s time to go shopping and checkout, you simply click on the Walmart Pay app and then wait for the confirmation to appear on your screen.
After confirming the purchase, you can take your items and leave the store.
You don’t have to touch or sign anything.
Because Walmart Pay acts just like Apple Pay, Walmart expects iPhone users to adopt Walmart Pay instead of using Apple Pay at its stores.
They don’t want to take Apple Pay as a form of payment because it’s a direct competitor of Walmart Pay.
iPhone users are more likely to use Apple Pay since it comes pre-loaded on their phones.
They’re likely already using Apple Pay to make purchases elsewhere, so they’re not going to use Walmart Pay at Walmart.
They’re already comfortable using Apple Pay.
Walmart would miss out on the chance to attract more people to its service if it allowed Apple Pay as a payment method.
As long as Walmart Pay exists, it’s unlikely that Walmart is going to start taking Apple Pay.
2. Avoids Apple Pay Fees
Another reason Walmart likely chose to develop its own contactless form of payment instead of using Apple Pay is to avoid the fees that Apple Pay charges.
The fees may differ based on the merchant, but there is always some type of fee that the merchant has to pay when the consumer uses Apple Pay to purchase their items.
If a lot of customers are using Apple Pay, then Walmart is paying a lot of fees.
That can increase their costs which makes their business model a bit more vulnerable.
Walmart keeps its costs as low as possible so it can offer its customers cheap prices on items.
If they suddenly have higher fees to pay, then they might need to increase prices.
Since their regular customers depend on their lower prices, if they start seeing high prices, then it might encourage them to leave Walmart behind and shop elsewhere.
As such, it’s cheaper for Walmart to make its own contactless form of payment and push that to its customers instead.
They’re able to avoid the fees and instead attract more people to their customized payment method.
3. Encourages Customers To Use More Walmart Services
Walmart wants to get you inside their stores.
They believe that once they have you in the store, there’s an increased chance that you’re going to buy something.
A way to attract more people to the stores is by introducing easier ways of paying for goods.
The COVID-19 pandemic made more people interested in alternative means of making payments.
They wanted to touch as little as possible.
Walmart saw an opportunity to attract people to its stores who were looking to use that sort of technology.
Walmart Pay made some people more comfortable with making in-store purchases.
They chose to shop at Walmart over other stores because it seemed more sanitary to them.
Along with attracting more people to its stores, Walmart also made its Walmart Pay program useable with the various services that it offers.
It further encourages its customers to take advantage of those services.
The more people participating in the services that Walmart offers, the more money it makes.
What Forms Of Payment Does Walmart Accept?
Although Walmart doesn’t take Apple Pay, there are several other payment methods that you can use.
You don’t need to have Walmart Pay to pay for your items at Walmart.
Walmart accepts some other forms of payment as well.
For example, the store accepts payment methods like cash, credit cards, and debit cards.
It also accepts government assistance payments like the EBT program.
If you have a Walmart gift card, then you can also use it at the store.
Keep in mind that they don’t allow you to buy a gift card with a gift card.
Walmart has also partnered with Capital One to make a Walmart Credit Card.
Since it’s backed by Capital One, you can also use this card to make your purchases.
If you’re buying something online, then you have a few more choices.
For example, you can pay using PayPal or Affirm.
You can also add all these methods, with the exception of PayPal and Affirm, to your Walmart wallet.
This allows you to easily switch between your payment methods when you’re making a purchase online or on the Walmart app.
How to use your iPhone to pay at Walmart
If you are interested in using Walmart Pay on your iPhone, then you may be curious as to how to get started with it.
Follow these steps to install Walmart Pay on your phone and use it at your local Walmart store.
- Download the Walmart app and sign up for a Walmart account, or log into your account if you already have one.
- Select the Account tab at the bottom of the screen on the right side.
- Select the Wallet card. Here, you’ll be able to enter whatever payment method you want to use — such as credit cards, debit cards, or gift cards.
- With a card connected to your account, go to a Walmart store and either scan your items using self-checkout or checkout with a cashier. When using self-checkout, scan all of your items and then select Pay on the checkout screen as normal.
- Once you’ve made it to the payment screen, open the Walmart app on your phone and select the Walmart Pay card on the home screen.
- The app will open a QR code scanner. Scan the QR code that’s displayed on the self-checkout screen, and a tab will pop up with your payment methods.
- Select the card you want to use, and the items will be charged to it.
When checking out with a cashier, tell them that you want to use Walmart Pay when they ask what payment method you’ll be using. They should direct you to a QR code either on the screen that they’re using or on the card reader. Use the QR code scanner in the Walmart app as detailed above to complete your purchase.
Finding Apple Pay places
Do you avoid stores that do not accept Apple Pay? Do you want to know which stores take Apple Pay before you go? Then there is an easy want to do that. Here is how:
- Launch Apple Maps app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Find the place you want to go.
- Tap the result you want to check. An info card will be displayed.
- Scroll down and find the “Good to Know” section.
- If the place takes Apple Pay, it will say “Accepts Apple Pay”.
Costco, the world’s second-largest retailer, accepts Apple Pay.
In conclusion, Apple Pay is not accepted at all Walmart locations. How long will Walmart refuse Apple Pay? We do not know. But we know that Walmart may change this in the future. Because this policy does not attract the tech-savvy customers. We will update this article if Walmart changes this.
Apple Pay launched in October 2014.
