Why Walmart Still Doesn't Accept Apple Pay (Even Though Customers Are Asking For It)

From humble beginnings in Arkansas in the 1960s, Walmart has grown into one of the largest companies on the planet, with over 10,000 stores and nearly 350 distribution warehouses across the globe. A retailer of this magnitude, which also owns the bulk-buy chain Sam's Club, tends to stay at the forefront of technology, including at its registers. So why, then, does Walmart consistently refuse to offer its customers the option to pay with Apple Pay? It all has to do with customer data.

You see, Apple Pay allows iPhone users to make purchases without ever sharing their actual credit card numbers. And that limits Walmart, which associates purchases to users based on the credit cards with which they check out, from receiving all the customer data, like specific items bought, or the frequency of shopping trips. Without that information, Walmart is less able to create targeted ads to convince shoppers to buy more.

But customers are shaking their fists at Walmart for not offering Apple Pay in its stores, especially when 85% of other retailers accept it. One Redditor on an Apple subreddit thread said in the year 2025, it's ridiculous that Walmart doesn't offer it as a payment method, while others maintained that it's one of the major reasons why they don't shop at Walmart more often or at all. And another commenter on a different thread actually posted their petition to get Walmart to accept a tap-to-pay option like Apple Pay.

Walmart customers can still use physical cards (and hard cash when shopping in a physical store) to check out, but for shoppers who no longer carry such things in their wallets — Gen Z in particular is turning to contactless payment in droves — the major retailer offers two walletless payment options: Scan and Go and Walmart Pay, both of which can be found in the Walmart app. Scan and Go, which Walmart shares with subsidiary company Sam's Club, allows you to scan items — like the fan-favorite Marketside Iced Lemon Sliced Loaf Cake — as you shop, then skip the checkout lanes completely by paying with an uploaded credit card.

To use Walmart Pay, on the other hand, you'll ring up your items as usual at a self-checkout kiosk, then scan a QR code on the screen using your phone, and select the payment method you want to use. Because both of these walletless payment methods are used in the Walmart app, the big box retailer has full access to all the data you provide, including your ever-important purchase history. And it might use all that information to customize marketing and advertising, enhance the customer experience, and even inform future supply chain decisions.