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

[zalusky]

The big reason Walmart does not want to accept and Home Depot for that matter is that ApplePay is anonymized.
They want to track your buying behavior and market and sell to it. Home Depot is also concerned you might go with the default ApplePay card and not the Home Depot credit card. Target and CVS fortunately gave up on that.

The simple answer is what Whole Foods did and scan it a membership/barcode id before you ApplePay.

 

[coopguy]

The big reason Walmart does not want to accept and Home Depot for that matter is that ApplePay is anonymized.
They want to track your buying behavior and market and sell to it. Home Depot is also concerned you might go with the default ApplePay card and not the Home Depot credit card. Target and CVS fortunately gave up on that.

The simple answer is what Whole Foods did and scan it a membership/barcode id before you ApplePay.

Apple pay is anonymized to the DPAN, which is a unique account number for a given payment card on a given device. It will be different depending on your device (for simplicity terms, say your physical card has number A, your iPhone 13 Pro Max has number B, your Apple Watch has number C, and btw you just upgraded that 13 Pro max to a 14 Pro Max, when you set up that card again instead of number B it's number D).

This makes tracking harder, but not impossible. Your transactions consistently made on one device (say your apple watch) will have the same DPAN (the account number stays the same per transaction, the EMV challenge/response is dynamic and securely tokenized per transaction). Target also has ways of associating multiple cards with what they term a guest ID: you might be IDed for an age restricted purchase and use your physical card on one purchase, and get IDed on a second purchase and use Apple Pay on your iPhone, they tie that to a common ID. Or you get emailed/mailed a coupon, they know who it was emailed/mailed to, use the coupon, use a form of payment, tie it back to the guest ID.

Similarly, Home Depot now asks about eReceipts, and it recognizes an email from a prior purchase if you use the same card. If Apple Pay were used (hypothetical being that Home Depot actually accepted Apple Pay), the DPAN wouldn't be the same per physical card, but it would be the same per device per card on a subsequent purchase.

The tracking bit is trickier with contactless digital wallets but it isn't why Walmart is refusing contactless (or Home Depot for that matter. For HD, it's just not a priority, and with little big box competition (basically just Lowes in most areas, and they don't take Apple Pay either), little reason to enable it. For Walmart, they hate the card networks and are sulking with WM Pay in the corner as a way to snub the card networks.

 

[lartola]

For Walmart, they hate the card networks and are sulking with WM Pay in the corner as a way to snub the card networks.

snub the card networks? they’re not snubbing them at all. When people use Walmart Pay they are still paying with their credit or debit card stored in the app (i.e., storing real card info on Walmart’s servers, which is less safe than anything else except for using the magnetic stripe). All they’re doing is turn what is usually an in-person transaction into an online transaction. Which btw, I understand, actually incurs higher card network fees.

 

[tmiw]

snub the card networks? they’re not snubbing them at all. When people use Walmart Pay they are still paying with their credit or debit card stored in the app (i.e., storing real card info on Walmart’s servers, which is less safe than anything else except for using the magnetic stripe). All they’re doing is turn what is usually an in-person transaction into an online transaction. Which btw, I understand, actually incurs higher card network fees.

Sure, but longer term (assuming they get enough people using the app), they could easily add some sort of ACH/bank transfer payment method to it and start offering incentives to use that instead of cards. Even only 5% of people taking them up on it would probably get the networks' attention.

 

[lartola]

Sure, but longer term (assuming they get enough people using the app), they could easily add some sort of ACH/bank transfer payment method to it and start offering incentives to use that instead of cards. Even only 5% of people taking them up on it would probably get the networks' attention.

Correct. But right now, as long as they haven’t done that, they’re not snubbing the card networks at all by pushing walmart pay. And they’re paying higher network exchange fees in the meantime since it’s a card not present transaction. At least in the US. They might, however, be snubbing the card networks in Mexico, where walmart’s app Cashi (the local version of walmart pay) does offer the option of cash top up at all walmart stores and affiliates.

 

[monstermash]

The big reason Walmart does not want to accept and Home Depot for that matter is that ApplePay is anonymized.
They want to track your buying behavior and market and sell to it. Home Depot is also concerned you might go with the default ApplePay card and not the Home Depot credit card. Target and CVS fortunately gave up on that.

The simple answer is what Whole Foods did and scan it a membership/barcode id before you ApplePay.

Walmart could easily get around this if it wants to by using facial recognition to tie you to what you buy.

Maybe it already does and just don't advertise it.

 

[garyjones027]

It is 2027. Almost all retailers and businesses have contactless payments and tap to pay in the United States. Walmart is the only exception. As the largest retailer in the United States, Walmart thinks that Walmart Pay is the only option to compete with other major retailers in terms of popular payment methods. The most popular form of contactless payment by American consumers is the use of tap to pay by a physical credit card or a physical debit card. Other popular forms of contactless payments are Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Walmart Pay requires a mobile phone to pay. It is the tap to pay by physical card that American consumers like the most and the most popular form of contactless payment. Walmart refuses to accept tap to pay by physical card which does not require a mobile phone. American consumers ask Walmart employees all the time when will they have this option to pay in the card terminal. There is negative media coverage and strong social media petitions that calls for Walmart to accept tap to pay by physical card and other forms of contactless payments. One of the most notable feature in the media coverage and social media petitions is that Walmart in Canada already accepts contactless payments in Canada for 7 years which started in 2020. Walmart USA still refuses to do contactless payments and tap to pay by physical card. This gives other major retailers in the United States an advantage in advertising over Walmart. They advertise that their checkout lanes have a very fast process because they have contactless payments which include the most popular tap to pay by physical card that American consumers like the most and other forms of contactless payments. The advertisements by these retailers also criticize Walmart for not following current forms of popular payment methods and for not following the demands by American consumers.

Also in 2027, banks in the United States that use Mastercard are started to emit credit cards and debit cards without the magnetic stripe. This was a promise that Mastercard did in 2021 after Mastercard announced that credit cards and debit cards under its name will not have the magnetic stripe by 2030. Banks in the United States that emit credit cards and debit cards in 2027 from Mastercard without the magnetic stripe also have the tap to pay feature.

 

[tmiw]

It is 2027. Almost all retailers and businesses have contactless payments and tap to pay in the United States. Walmart is the only exception. As the largest retailer in the United States, Walmart thinks that Walmart Pay is the only option to compete with other major retailers. The most popular form of contactless payment by American consumers is the use of tap to pay by a physical credit card or a physical debit card. Other popular forms of contactless payments are Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. It is the tap to pay by physical card that American consumers like the most but Walmart refuses to accept tap to pay by physical card which does not require a mobile phone. American consumers ask Walmart employees most of the time when will they have this option to pay in the card terminal. There is negative media coverage and strong social media petitions that calls for Walmart to accept tap to pay by physical card and other forms of contactless payments. One of the most notable features is that Walmart in Canada already accepted contactless payments in Canada for 7 years which started in 2020. Walmart USA still refuses to do contactless payments and tap to pay by physical card which gives other major retailers in the United States an advantage in advertising over Walmart. They advertise that their checkout lanes are very fast processing because they have contactless payments which include the most popular tap to pay by physical card that American consumers like the most.

I don't think Walmart would continue holding out if nearly everyone else started accepting it, even if they did hate the card networks or the concept of tapping in general. After all, everyone else accepting it would imply that there's enough customer demand to justify turning the feature on.

Though speaking of not liking cards, I bet WinCo ends up never turning it on, or at least only doing so if there were a card network mandate.

 

[zorinlynx]

I don't think Walmart would continue holding out if nearly everyone else started accepting it, even if they did hate the card networks or the concept of tapping in general. After all, everyone else accepting it would imply that there's enough customer demand to justify turning the feature on.

Though speaking of not liking cards, I bet WinCo ends up never turning it on, or at least only doing so if there were a card network mandate.

Walmart and Home Depot are the only local retailers that don't take contactless. Literally everyone else does, from big supermarkets like Publix to the tiniest small business.

It's a bit absurd how far they've taken this stubborn refusal to get with the times. All they have to do is a change a configuration bit in their payment terminals and it will be supported. That's it. One software change.

Unfortunately it's not a big enough annoyance to make people not shop there, myself included.

 

[SFjohn]

Walmart and Home Depot are the only local retailers that don't take contactless. Literally everyone else does, from big supermarkets like Publix to the tiniest small business.

It's a bit absurd how far they've taken this stubborn refusal to get with the times. All they have to do is a change a configuration bit in their payment terminals and it will be supported. That's it. One software change.

Unfortunately it's not a big enough annoyance to make people not shop there, myself included.

I don’t shop at either because I have better alternatives that take Apple Pay… 👍🏻

 

[bradl]

Walmart and Home Depot are the only local retailers that don't take contactless. Literally everyone else does, from big supermarkets like Publix to the tiniest small business.

It's a bit absurd how far they've taken this stubborn refusal to get with the times. All they have to do is a change a configuration bit in their payment terminals and it will be supported. That's it. One software change.

Unfortunately it's not a big enough annoyance to make people not shop there, myself included.

Unfortunately, they seem to value your data more than your convenience.. 😵‍💫😒

BL.

 

[tmiw]

Walmart and Home Depot are the only local retailers that don't take contactless. Literally everyone else does, from big supermarkets like Publix to the tiniest small business.

I can think of at least a few more off the top of my head, unfortunately. For example, WinCo (as previously mentioned) plus Hobby Lobby and Lowe's (though supposedly NFC at the latter will be "soon"). Plus, at ~30% contactless usage in US, it's low enough that you could still justify not enabling it, though that's becoming harder and harder to do over time.

 

[lartola]

It is 2027. Almost all retailers and businesses have contactless payments and tap to pay in the United States. Walmart is the only exception. As the largest retailer in the United States, Walmart thinks that Walmart Pay is the only option to compete with other major retailers in terms of popular payment methods. The most popular form of contactless payment by American consumers is the use of tap to pay by a physical credit card or a physical debit card. Other popular forms of contactless payments are Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Walmart Pay requires a mobile phone to pay. It is the tap to pay by physical card that American consumers like the most and the most popular form of contactless payment. Walmart refuses to accept tap to pay by physical card which does not require a mobile phone. American consumers ask Walmart employees all the time when will they have this option to pay in the card terminal. There is negative media coverage and strong social media petitions that calls for Walmart to accept tap to pay by physical card and other forms of contactless payments. One of the most notable feature in the media coverage and social media petitions is that Walmart in Canada already accepts contactless payments in Canada for 7 years which started in 2020. Walmart USA still refuses to do contactless payments and tap to pay by physical card. This gives other major retailers in the United States an advantage in advertising over Walmart. They advertise that their checkout lanes have a very fast process because they have contactless payments which include the most popular tap to pay by physical card that American consumers like the most and other forms of contactless payments. The advertisements by these retailers also criticize Walmart for not following current forms of popular payment methods and for not following the demands by American consumers.

Also in 2027, banks in the United States that use Mastercard are started to emit credit cards and debit cards without the magnetic stripe. This was a promise that Mastercard did in 2021 after Mastercard announced that credit cards and debit cards under its name will not have the magnetic stripe by 2030. Banks in the United States that emit credit cards and debit cards in 2027 from Mastercard without the magnetic stripe also have the tap to pay feature.

And it’s not just in the US. Walmart (and Home Depot too) is doing exactly the same in Mexico as in the US. One wonders what exactly made them turn on contactless in other countries such as Canada, Costa Rica or Chile but continue refusing to do the same in the US and Mexico.

 

[michaelsanchez0027]

I can think of at least a few more off the top of my head, unfortunately. For example, WinCo (as previously mentioned) plus Hobby Lobby and Lowe's (though supposedly NFC at the latter will be "soon"). Plus, at ~30% contactless usage in US, it's low enough that you could still justify not enabling it, though that's becoming harder and harder to do over time.

This depends if US consumers always ask the employees of these retailers when they will have tap to pay by card and sometimes Apple Pay.

It is 90% of merchants that accept contactless payments in the United States.

 

[SnowCrocodile]

Lots of posts in this thread putting Walmart and people that shop at Walmart down.

Not getting into all of their small businesses killing issues, Walmart provides goods to LOTS of people at good prices. Goods that people need to LIVE their lives.

I have Zero Foxtrots to give when it comes to how they take your money. Not shopping there just because they do not take Apple Pay, shows your true colors. Putting people down that do shop there makes you someone I never, ever want to talk too.

Just go back in this thread and look at the ignorance posted here.

I live in a fairly affluent area and shop at Walmart all the time. Their grocery section is just as good as any other vendor's, the prices are noticeably less, and they often carry cuts of meat that I can't get at more "upscale" stores. Just the other day went looking for a chunk of beef for a recipe which called for it to be frozen and then thinly sliced (so doesn't work with small / thin cuts), Kroger was $8.99 a pound for the cheapest beef and only had thin cuts, Walmart was $6.99 and I could pick a nice seven pound chunk. That's $14 saved on just that piece of meat alone. Costco would've been about the same price but I dread shopping there, the crowds are huge, they don't pay attention, and I have been hit by some idiot's cart more often than I care to remember. If not for gas I wouldn't even be a member.

Walmart also has much better prices on lactose-free and organic milk, gluten-free bread, vegetables and many fruits than pretty much any other chain. Well, Aldi comes close on some items, but their selection is rather limited.

Would I like it if Walmart supported Apple Pay ? Sure.

Would I stop shopping there if they don't start supporting it ? Not unless Apple covers the difference in my groceries bill.

Do I care about the "stigma" that some people attach to shopping at Walmart ? LOL. That's your insecurities, not mine.

 

[amajum0073]

And it’s not just in the US. Walmart (and Home Depot too) is doing exactly the same in Mexico as in the US. One wonders what exactly made them turn on contactless in other countries such as Canada, Costa Rica or Chile but continue refusing to do the same in the US and Mexico.

It is to promote Walmart Pay for Walmart USA and cashi app for Walmart Mexico. That is why there is no contactless payments in Walmart stores in USA and Mexico.

As mentioned in the 2027 post above, people will start to question the Walmart employees when they will accept contactless payments and tap to pay by card as more retailers in USA and Mexico accept contactless payments if Walmart stores in these countries decide to just only promote their pay apps as a better payment method.

 

[markgpearse]

My HEB / Central Market grocer here in Dallas doesn’t use contactless pay. Pretty big outfit.

 

[lartola]

My HEB / Central Market grocer here in Dallas doesn’t use contactless pay. Pretty big outfit.

None of the HEBs and affiliates in the US or Mexico do. They’re expected to start by the end of 2023, though.

 

[lartola]

It is to promote Walmart Pay for Walmart USA and cashi app for Walmart Mexico. That is why there is no contactless payments in Walmart stores in USA and Mexico.

As mentioned in the 2027 post above, people will start to question the Walmart employees when they will accept contactless payments and tap to pay by card as more retailers in USA and Mexico accept contactless payments if Walmart stores in these countries decide to just only promote their pay apps as a better payment method.

Still, why is walmart not doing the same elsewhere? Walmart has a presence in many countries, yet only in two of them they have apps of their own that they prefer to promote. Why only in those two? why not just contactless everywhere or no contactless and their own app everywhere?

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Still, why is walmart not doing the same elsewhere? Walmart has a presence in many countries, yet only in two of them they have apps of their own that they prefer to promote. Why only in those two? why not just contactless everywhere or no contactless and their own app everywhere?

The answer is rather simple. Walmart is a retail behemoth and one of the if not the largest employer in the world and as such they look out for their own self interest just like Apple does in the tech sector. They don't care about Apple Pay or contactless payment in their stores because Walmart Pay is contactless. I used it the other day. I scanned the QR code with my camera using the Walmart app and it transferred the receipt to my phone. However, Walmart uses contactless payment at their MurphyUSA gas stations. So Walmart does what they feel helps their business. Obviously, Apple Pay is not one of them.

 

[garyjones027]

The answer is rather simple. Walmart is a retail behemoth and one of the if not the largest employer in the world and as such they look out for their own self interest just like Apple does in the tech sector. They don't care about Apple Pay or contactless payment in their stores because Walmart Pay is contactless. I used it the other day. I scanned the QR code with my camera using the Walmart app and it transferred the receipt to my phone. However, Walmart uses contactless payment at their MurphyUSA gas stations. So Walmart does what they feel helps their business. Obviously, Apple Pay is not one of them.

Contactless payments are growing in the United States and every business is starting to accept it. 90% of businesses accept contactless payments in the United States. If this is the case, as explained in my 2027 scenario where contactless payments grow and every business and major retailer except Walmart accept contactless payment and tap to pay in the United States. You will expect high customer demand for contactless payment and tap to pay. There will be media coverage, social media petitions, and advertising from other major retailers if Walmart USA decides to reject contactless payments forever in order to promote its Walmart Pay for better payment method.

 

[redbeard331]

I live in a fairly affluent area and shop at Walmart all the time. Their grocery section is just as good as any other vendor's, the prices are noticeably less, and they often carry cuts of meat that I can't get at more "upscale" stores. Just the other day went looking for a chunk of beef for a recipe which called for it to be frozen and then thinly sliced (so doesn't work with small / thin cuts), Kroger was $8.99 a pound for the cheapest beef and only had thin cuts, Walmart was $6.99 and I could pick a nice seven pound chunk. That's $14 saved on just that piece of meat alone. Costco would've been about the same price but I dread shopping there, the crowds are huge, they don't pay attention, and I have been hit by some idiot's cart more often than I care to remember. If not for gas I wouldn't even be a member.

Walmart also has much better prices on lactose-free and organic milk, gluten-free bread, vegetables and many fruits than pretty much any other chain. Well, Aldi comes close on some items, but their selection is rather limited.

Would I like it if Walmart supported Apple Pay ? Sure.

Would I stop shopping there if they don't start supporting it ? Not unless Apple covers the difference in my groceries bill.

Do I care about the "stigma" that some people attach to shopping at Walmart ? LOL. That's your insecurities, not mine.

Replying to you and the poster you quoted.

I think people “get” that a huge amount of people have no choice but to shop there these days. The problem I have, and others as well is that Wal-Mart got where they are by eviscerating Main Street USA, and the manufacturing sector along with it. They exploit their employees and the heirs are horrible excuses for human beings who don’t deserve the massive and disgusting wealth they’ve been handed. Their employees survive on food stamps while the Waltons are hanging out on half a billion dollar yachts.

So yea, it’s unfortunate that many have no choice but to shop there, but for those that don’t, is it really worth it to save a few bucks? Your money is going towards horrible people and exploiting millions around the world. So yea, lots of justifiable criticism directed at Wal-Mart.

 

[lartola]

The answer is rather simple. Walmart is a retail behemoth and one of the if not the largest employer in the world and as such they look out for their own self interest just like Apple does in the tech sector. They don't care about Apple Pay or contactless payment in their stores because Walmart Pay is contactless. I used it the other day. I scanned the QR code with my camera using the Walmart app and it transferred the receipt to my phone. However, Walmart uses contactless payment at their MurphyUSA gas stations. So Walmart does what they feel helps their business. Obviously, Apple Pay is not one of them.

Ok, buy why do they only not care in two countries? I mean, they have a presence in more than 20 countries and only in two of them they think accepting contactless will hurt their business, but not in the rest. It’s weird. If contactless hurts their business, it does everywhere they operate, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t anywhere they operate.

 

[tmiw]

Ok, buy why do they only not care in two countries? I mean, they have a presence in more than 20 countries and only in two of them they think accepting contactless will hurt their business, but not in the rest. It’s weird. If contactless hurts their business, it does everywhere they operate, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t anywhere they operate.

Card networks mandate support in most of the rest so it doesn't really matter whether they think it hurts their business.

 

[michaelsanchez0027]

Card networks mandate support in most of the rest so it doesn't really matter whether they think it hurts their business.

Contactless payment including tap to pay by card is increasing as the years go in the United States. As garyjones027 mentioned above, if Walmart stores in the United States decide to not offer tap to pay by card and other contactless payments, in a few years, there will be negative news coverage for Walmart not to offer tap to pay by card. The news coverage will say that tap to pay by card is very popular among American people and it is accepted by major businesses and major retailers in the United States. The news coverage will also show that Walmart stores in Canada already have tap to pay by card since 2020. It will criticize Walmart stores in the United States for not to allow other popular payment methods but only Walmart Pay on the mobile phone and insert the credit card into the credit card machine which takes time. Then, this will create criticisms on social media. I expect this type of news coverage and social media criticisms to happen in 4 to 5 years.