Walmart will begin accepting Apple Pay on iPhone and Apple Watch in some of its U.S. Stores starting Monday, August 24, 2026, marking an abrupt end to the retailer’s 12-year refusal to support the payment system. The company announced the shift on Thursday, August 21, alongside plans to roll out tap-to-pay support across all U.S. Walmart and Sam’s Club locations by the end of 2026 and to gas stations by mid-2027.
This reversal is significant, walmart spent over a decade insisting that its proprietary Walmart Pay system, which uses QR codes, was superior to Apple Pay. It doubled down on that position as recently as last year. Now it is accepting not just Apple Pay but also Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and other contactless platforms, while continuing to support Walmart Pay alongside them.
Why Walmart held out for so long
The core reason was data collection, walmart Pay’s QR-code system allowed the company to track every customer purchase and build behavioral profiles. Apple Pay obscures that information behind privacy protections that hide the actual credit card number from Walmart entirely. The retailer valued that direct access to purchase data more than it valued customer convenience, a calculation that eventually lost out to competitive pressure and customer frustration.
Other major U.S. Retailers reversed course years ago. The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Kroger, and H-E-B all rolled out tap-to-pay support in recent years, leaving Walmart increasingly isolated. Walmart had already accepted Apple Pay in its Canadian stores since 2020, which made the U.S. Holdout look less like a technical limitation and more like a deliberate business choice.
iPhone users posted complaints regularly about being forced to use Walmart Pay or reach for a physical card. That vocal pushback, combined with the sight of competitors accepting Apple Pay without incident, shifted Walmart’s internal calculation.
How the rollout will work
The rollout is phased and state-by-state through the end of 2026, with gas stations following by mid-2027. According to an internal Walmart memo obtained by 9to5Mac, the company will activate Apple Pay and other tap-to-pay methods in waves across U.S. Locations. Shoppers will be able to add their Walmart and Sam’s Club cards directly to Apple Wallet and other platforms, not just use external credit cards. Missouri does not appear in Walmart’s current rollout schedule.
Contactless payments will coexist with all existing methods. Walmart Pay remains available, physical cards still work, and customers can choose whichever option they prefer at checkout. “We want customers and members to have choice in how they pay, so they can check out in the way that works best for them,” Walmart said in its announcement.
For iPhone and Apple Watch users, the friction that defined the Walmart experience for over a decade simply vanishes on August 24 in participating locations. For those in regions where the rollout has not yet arrived, the end-of-year timeline suggests completion before 2026 closes.
