Walmart announced on August 21, 2026, that it will begin accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay at its stores, including Sam’s Club locations. Starting August 24, select stores will roll out Tap to Pay, with full availability expected by the end of the year at all Walmart and Sam’s Club sites. The company plans to extend this payment option to its fuel stations by mid-2027. This marks a significant shift for Walmart, which has historically resisted adopting these mainstream mobile payment technologies.

For years, Walmart opted to promote its proprietary payment methods such as Walmart Pay and Scan-and-Go rather than support widely-used options like Apple Pay and Google Pay. In the past, the retailer even collaborated with other major chains to launch CurrentC, a competing mobile payment system aimed at challenging Apple Pay, though this initiative was discontinued in 2016 after unsuccessful adoption. During this time, Walmart customers consistently requested support for popular tap-to-pay options that now cover approximately 85% of U.S. retailers.

The move to embrace Apple Pay and Google Pay is seen by many as an acknowledgment by Walmart that its previous strategy was not serving customers effectively. Despite being one of the largest retailers globally, Walmart’s insistence on its own payment tools put it at odds with evolving consumer preferences for convenient, widely-accepted mobile payments. The decision to finally support these platforms is framed by Walmart as an effort to provide shoppers with more payment choices and improve their checkout experience.

Walmart characterized the inclusion of Tap to Pay alongside existing options like cash, credit cards, and Walmart Pay as part of a broader strategy to make financial management easier for customers and members. Though this change may feel overdue, it signals Walmart’s recognition of the importance of adapting to modern payment trends to remain competitive and meet shopper expectations in the evolving retail landscape.