Walmart still doesn’t accept Apple Pay – here’s why
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Customers have long asked for Walmart to implement Apple Pay at the registers, but the retailer has not relented, relying instead on its own method for customers to pay with their phones.
Numerous complaints about Twitter regret the lack of integration and illustrate the extent to which customers crave the service. Given the popularity of Apple Payit’s not surprising that people are asking for the functionality at the largest retailer in the world, which has nearly 5,000 locations in the US alone.
Now, instead of relying on Apple Pay, the retailer has developed its own digital mobile payment system known as Walmart Pay, integrated with the Walmart app.
Walmart Pay App
Unlike Apple Pay and some other mobile payment methods, it doesn’t use Near Field Communication (NFC)the protocol that allows nearby devices to instantly connect and transmit data wirelessly, instead users must scan a QR code at checkout.
A Walmart spokesperson argued that this is a convenient way to pay, adding that Walmart has implemented other systems such as Scan & Go, available for Sam’s Club and Walmart Plus members, which allows them to “bypass the checkout altogether”.
Interestingly, though, Walmart’s Canadian branches have been equipped with Apple Pay registers since 2020.
Some have speculated that there could be ulterior motives behind the hyperstore’s proprietary method, such as increasing the number of Walmart app users and tracking their customers’ purchases.
Although Apple Pay is available in more than 90% of the stores (opens in new tab) in the US, Walmart isn’t the only major player refusing its use: The Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Kroger all lack Apple Pay integration, either.
Through MacRumors (opens in new tab)