Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Only the worst of society is found there lol
I took my last trip to Walmart six months ago, where I left a cart of groceries at the checkout counter. It's greed, plain and simple. Target accepts Apple Pay and it's a little more of my crowd.
Amen to that.
Countless times my wife and I will find ourselves at a Walmart unexpectedly, go through the store gathering our things, and then realize we left our wallets at home because there is no need for us to carry them anywhere else we buy from.
We’ve been slowly moving away from buying things there, even if it means paying a little more.
I wonder who had Scan & Go first, Walmart or Amazon’s Whole Foods. I used it in Whole Foods a couple times. Works well.
Do you have a digital driver license? Do you not carry a debit card for emergency cash?
You could get one of those mini wallets that MagSafe onto the back of your phone ..
I can count on one hand the # of times I've been there in the last decade. Why deal with rude staff and 15-minute checkout lines when we can get our cheap **** on Amazon? Ammo is literally the only reason I can think of.
Don’t forget the ubiquitous Eastern European car valets.
Nothing screams “totally legitimate business” quite like an Albanian hand car wash with used car forecourt (once those pesky bloodstains are dealt with, no doubt) insisting on cash only.
Still, they do a grand job and I’m happy with their payment terms. Not a chance in hell I’d use any sort of bank card there, contactless or otherwise.
Definitely, in my local town the car valet, Turkish barbers (x2) and a takeaway are all owned by the same guys... Obviously no card payments in sight! 🤣 Still, decent car wash, good takeaway and awful barbers haha
Not sure if it’s those two or an European regulation, but here contactless is almost universal
Really tone deaf PR and typical business arrogance.... They will eventually fold. I almost never shop there in store anyways so it's a non issue for me....
Everybody else accepts Apple pay.........
Target accepts Apple Pay and uses carrots to entice you to pay with their app while Walmart simply says "I Don't Care" to its customers... Not very smart...
Everybody else accepts Apple pay.........
Target accepts Apple Pay and uses carrots to entice you to pay with their app while Walmart simply says "I Don't Care" to its customers... Not very smart...
Walmart is crushing it as a company. They are in a position to do whatever they want.
It appears Walmart’s PR strategy is gaslighting.
>Opening an app, selecting the pay page, then pointing your phone at a QRCode is easier and more convenient than tapping your phone to an NFC PoS and authenticating with biometrics. (Really wants to avoid paying credit card fees despite Walmart pay allowing the Apple Card to be added via number)
>Self checkout is closed to improve the customer experience by providing more access to assisted checkout. (Despite them not being mutually exclusive) (also also, the real reason is theft and they won’t admit it)
>Opening an app, selecting the pay page, then pointing your phone at a QRCode is easier and more convenient than tapping your phone to an NFC PoS and authenticating with biometrics. (Really wants to avoid paying credit card fees despite Walmart pay allowing the Apple Card to be added via number)
>Self checkout is closed to improve the customer experience by providing more access to assisted checkout. (Despite them not being mutually exclusive) (also also, the real reason is theft and they won’t admit it)
I member of a non-profit and we have a wine event every year. I am shocked at the number of pepole that don't carry an ID with them. None of them are happy when we tell them no ID means you can't come in.
I don't carry my debit card at all--I don't use cash for anything or have emergency cash. Never been in a situation that necessitated something like that. Same for the driver's license: I only carry it if I'm going to need it (e.g. buying booze, etc.).
My state supports digital licenses--but they aren't accepted anywhere except the airport. Dunno about other states, but where I live there is no legal requirement to have an ID on me.
I tried the Magsafe wallets: I don't use a case on my phone. Most Magsafe wallets benefit from the stronger magnets in a case; that, and the phone mount in my car uses Magsafe so it would just be a wallet at that point.
I have a small cardholder wallet that only has my credit card and license but like I said, no need for it anywhere I go except Walmart 🤷♂️
Last edited:
Yeah that's pretty dumb.
If I knew I was going to a brewery or buying alcohol, I obv have my ID on me. I don't live a life right now where I'm finding myself at a brewery unexpectedly 🥴
Add a payment method to Walmart Pay and you don't need a wallet or physical card either.
I see other people saying this is because they want to avoid credit card fees, but if you have a credit card in your Walmart Pay wallet, don't they still pay those fees?
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today.
A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient payment technologies available in the Walmart app, including Walmart Pay and Mobile Scan & Go.
Walmart Pay allows customers to scan a QR code displayed at checkout to pay for their purchase with a payment card stored in the Walmart app. Scan & Go allows Walmart+ members to save time by scanning barcodes on items while they shop, rather than having to scan all of the items at a self-checkout register later.
The spokesperson said the following statement still stands:
Apple Pay launched more than 10 years ago, and it was accepted at more than 90 percent of U.S. retailers as of 2022, according to Apple. Some other major Apple Pay holdouts in the U.S. have reversed course and started accepting it over the past few years, including The Home Depot, Lowe's, Kroger, and Texas grocery store chain H-E-B, leaving Walmart as one of the country's only major retailers not to accept Apple Pay.
Walmart has accepted Apple Pay in Canada since 2020.
Article Link: Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.
There was around a 2 year period where the tech worked for NFC and Samsung pay, until Walmart deliberately disabled it systematically, a few months later the party lie was it had never worked.
But they still have your real card info instead of a safe 3rd party