Walmart and its subsidiary Sam’s Club are finally launching tap-to-pay options, allowing customers to make convenient, contactless payments at checkout.
For years, shoppers at Walmart and Sam’s Club had to insert or swipe a physical credit card or pay in cash, rather than simply tap their card or mobile device. The retailers’ announcement on Friday said that the launch of Tap to Pay for customers and members “is part of a broader effort to make managing and using their money easier.”
Tap to Pay will roll out on Monday, Aug. 24, in select Walmart and Sam’s Club stores and will eventually be available at all US-based locations by the end of the year, according to the retail giant. Gas stations at some large Walmart Supercenters and most Sam’s Club warehouse locations will offer the payment option by mid-2027. You’ll also be able to add eligible Sam’s Club, OnePay and Walmart cards to your digital wallet, Walmart said in Friday’s announcement.
Tap-to-pay methods use short-range wireless tech to send locked payment data from your phone, watch or card to a checkout reader without touching it. Walmart’s been holding out on implementing Tap to Pay for some time, preventing transactions through Google Pay, Samsung Pay or Apple Pay, even when other retail competitors rolled out the convenient payment feature years ago. Target, for example, made digital payments available in 2019.
It’s unclear what prompted the change, and a representative from Walmart didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
One potential explanation for Walmart’s about-face was a direct response to customers’ anger over the giant retailer’s refusal to support mobile payments, a technology built into nearly every smartphone today. It’s also possible that Walmart had avoided enabling Apple Pay and Google Pay to push customers toward using its proprietary Walmart Pay app, which shared their shopping data.
Walmart shared the news on its Instagram account, along with a video showing countless complaints about not having Tap to Pay as an option at checkout.
Many Instagram users are excited about the change coming soon, with some saying, “Shut the automatic front doors 🥹” and, “now that’s how you listen to feedback and respond! 👏👏👏.”