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Walmart Still Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in U.S. Despite Many Customer Requests

My local grocery store, Publix, has their own app which supports QR code checkout. It is a very convenient way to pay, but requires storing credit card info in the app wallet. When they finally started offering ApplePay, I switched over to it as it is much more secure.
 
RalfTheDog said:
Mostly. It's for people who only care about price, not quality or their own time.
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Quality and time are far bigger to me than price, and I shop at Walmart because I can buy quality products AND get in and get out fast with contactless payment options ALL AT a lower price.

*Even faster payment than ApplePay.

*Zero difference in quality on the fishing gear, ammo, guns, automotive products, groceries, etc. that I purchase there.
 
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The country who created credit cards still have stores without NFC POS 😂 😂😂😂😂
 
tmiw said:
Honestly? The US still has some of (if not) the developed world's lowest usage of contactless payment, both via cards and mobile devices. For instance, we only recently got up to 20%ish of all card payments using it--and we needed a million people (and counting) dying of a pandemic to get to that point. Why would Walmart et al enable it when (a) the vast majority of their customers likely don't care and (b) it's very possible that stuff like curbside pickup, Just Walk Out/Scan & Go type technology, etc. will eventually negate a lot of the need for tapping in the first place?

That said, that 20% figure is only an average and could be significantly higher depending on where you are. It's possible that the calculation the various holdouts made will end up changing more quickly than we think, causing at least some of them to eventually enable support.

(Personally I'm more worried about Kroger possibly disabling contactless at Safeway and Albertsons once that deal becomes final. Then again, they do have it enabled at QFC, so it's also possible they'll finally get off their butts and enable it company-wide as a result of the merger.)
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Walmart and Kroger have contactless pay.
 
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Paddle1 said:
It's very surprising that Canada is seemingly so ahead of the US in contactless payments. This is more than just Apple Pay.
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Yeah, pretty much every retailer here accepts NFC payments. But we’ve had tap to pay credit and debit cards for over 10 years. Apple Pay automatically works on all these. However, for the same reason, Apple Pay probably isn’t used nearly as much. It’s almost less convenient that tapping a credit card. But, the extra security is nice (and the ease of use online).
 
freedomlinux said:
You're joking. Are you really wondering why these HUGE big box stores are not located in urban or high-income (desirable) areas?

The real estate costs would be astronomical.
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Try doing some research as it’s been known esp. in the business world for decades the demographics of Walmart and where it builds it’s stores.
 
"In a press release earlier this year, Apple said that Apple Pay is accepted at more than 90 percent of U.S. retailers," ....

Well, that's good enough for me. I find myself using Apple Pay more and more over time, but it's not like there aren't alternatives.

The MagSafe wallet I have attached to my iPhone holds a single credit card just for that reason!
 
There are other ways to track customers while still offering Apple Pay. For instance with loyalty cards that offer discounts.

In my country (Belgium) every store offers support for Apple Pay and as far as I know no store can block it because it’s an NFC based bank card, like any other regular bank card.
 
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MyOwnDrummer said:
Walmart and Kroger have contactless pay.
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ApplePay is not about contactless so much as security. Your card info is not stored on your device. Once the initial setup is complete, an unrelated number is stored in the secure onclave which is then used to communicate with the bank in a one time transaction token that goes away after payment. This is about as secure are you can get other than paying cash. Contactless like WalMart and Kroger use, connects to your credit card or bank account so might as well be the same as using the card itself only you dont need the card. There are no additional security benefits, only convenience. I appreciate that and use Kroger pay but ApplePay would be a better option.
 
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hagar said:
There are other ways to track customers while still offering Apple Pay. For instance with loyalty cards that offer discounts.

In my country (Belgium) every store offers support for Apple Pay and as far as I know no store can block it because it’s an NFC based bank card, like any other regular bank card.
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We have Walgreens, not sure if you do but their loyalty card is in my Apple Wallet so I tap with the card first then my payment. They get tracking info and I get a few points that I never really use. Ha.
 
monstermash said:
Amazon doesn't accept Apple Pay either. Do you shop on Amazon?
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No, I have an Amazon card. And the stuff I can get on Amazon is much better than most of what Walmart peddles. But Apple Pay isn't the main reason why I, and many others, don't shop at Walmart.
 
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The core reason companies like Walmart and Home Depot don’t accept Apple Pay is because they would loose valuable data from their marketing insights. Since apple scrambles the ID for every transaction, it is impossible for the analysts in the consumer insights departments to match transactions to people and households. I know this for a fact as I used to work for one of these companies and they explicitly denied Apple Pay for that reason. The consumer insights analysts drive a lot of value on targeted marketing and sales lift and that all goes out the window the minute the ID’s and transactions cannot be matched
 
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Aquaporin said:
We should go back to a cash society. Or have a cashless standard that has 0% fees for merchants.
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This is what WalMart thinks too. The payment system they created was to use direct draw from checking to avoid any credit card fees. It didn’t work and honesty I think more people need/use the credit on their cards to get by until they have cash. They missed the fact not everyone has cash on hand to pay directly from the bank. They should but reality is they may not.
 
trhoffmann said:
My local grocery store, Publix, has their own app which supports QR code checkout. It is a very convenient way to pay, but requires storing credit card info in the app wallet. When they finally started offering ApplePay, I switched over to it as it is much more secure.
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I love Publix. The chicken tender subs they make are amazing.
 
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no_idea said:
The core reason companies like Walmart and Home Depot don’t accept Apple Pay is because they would loose valuable data from their marketing insights. Since apple scrambles the ID for every transaction, it is impossible for the analysts in the consumer insights departments to match transactions to people and households. I know this for a fact as I used to work for one of these companies and they explicitly denied Apple Pay for that reason. The consumer insights analysts drive a lot of value on targeted marketing and sales lift and that all goes out the window the minute the ID’s and transactions cannot be matched
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Maybe they force a compromise. In order to use ApplePay, you scan a loyalty card first. Maybe integrate them into one transaction so that when you scan your store card you also trigger the ApplePay payment. We get convenience and they get data.
 
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gsmornot said:
You guys are well ahead of us. Small businesses are more likely to accept it than large business. Our largest grocery chain, largest general retail (WalMart) and largest hardware stores are still no. They were together trying to create a system to compete with Apple Pay but it failed and they are still upset about it. We are still waiting for gas stations. Exxon will take it via their app, Costco will take it at the pump, and a few other brands have started adding readers at the pump but we have more to go.
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Costco does accept Applepay and contactless payments.

Seen people use it in the N.E. stores. Tap & go.
Costco’s app recently has your purchase history available, store or online, so you can search for receipts for returns easier.

 
gsmornot said:
Maybe they force a compromise. In order to use ApplePay, you scan a loyalty card first. Maybe integrate them into one transaction so that when you scan your store card you also trigger the ApplePay payment. We get convenience and they get data.
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I wish we could get there but I don’t see it happening anytime soon. One of the major value props of Apple Pay for consumers is anonymity and not getting annoying ads.
 
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