Walmart Still Doesn’t Accept Apple Pay in 2026—Here’s the Real Reason
If you’ve ever tried tapping your iPhone to pay at a Walmart checkout in the U.S., you’ve likely been met with disappointment. As of early 2026, Walmart remains one of the last major American retailers that still doesn’t accept Apple Pay—or any NFC-based contactless payment like Google Pay or Samsung Pay. Even tapping your physical credit or debit card won’t work; the NFC readers at registers are simply turned off. Why? It’s not about technical limitations. It’s about data.
While Apple Pay has become nearly ubiquitous—accepted at over 90% of U.S. retailers since 2022—Walmart continues to steer customers toward its own in-house payment systems: Walmart Pay and Scan & Go. And there’s a strategic reason behind that choice that goes far beyond convenience.
Why Walmart Blocks Apple Pay (And Other Contactless Payments)
At first glance, Walmart’s refusal to enable NFC payments seems puzzling. After all, competitors like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Kroger, and H-E-B have all added Apple Pay support in recent years. Even Walmart’s Canadian stores began accepting Apple Pay back in 2020. So why not in the U.S.?
The answer lies in control—and customer data.
Apple Pay is designed with privacy as a core principle. When you pay with Apple Pay, your actual credit card number is never shared with the merchant. Instead, a unique token is used for each transaction, making it extremely difficult for retailers to track your spending habits across visits. For Walmart, that’s a problem.
By requiring shoppers to use Walmart Pay—a QR-code-based system embedded in its mobile app—the retailer gains direct access to detailed purchase histories, item-level data, and behavioral patterns. This information fuels everything from personalized promotions to inventory planning and ad targeting within Walmart’s growing digital ecosystem.
In short: Apple Pay protects your privacy. Walmart Pay gives Walmart insights.
How Walmart Pay Works—and Why It’s Less Convenient
Using Walmart Pay isn’t complicated, but it’s certainly less seamless than Apple Pay. Shoppers must first download the Walmart app, link a payment method, and then—only at checkout—pull up a QR code to scan at the register. There’s no tap, no glance-and-go. You have to unlock your phone, open the app, authenticate (often with Face ID or a passcode), and aim your camera at a small code on the terminal.
Compare that to Apple Pay: double-click the side button, glance at your phone, and hold it near the reader. Done in under two seconds.
For Walmart+, the retailer’s $98/year membership program, there’s also Scan & Go—a feature that lets you scan items as you shop and skip the checkout line entirely. But even here, Apple Pay isn’t an option. Payment must flow through Walmart’s own system, ensuring every transaction stays within its data loop.
This friction isn’t accidental. It’s intentional design to keep users inside Walmart’s walled garden.
The Privacy Trade-Off You Might Not Realize
Many shoppers assume all digital payments are roughly equal when it comes to privacy. They’re not.
When you use Apple Pay, your bank knows what you bought, but the merchant only sees a tokenized transaction—no name, no card number, no cross-session tracking. Apple itself doesn’t store your purchase history or share it with third parties.
Walmart Pay, by contrast, ties every transaction directly to your account. That enables features like digital receipts and easy returns—but it also means Walmart builds a comprehensive profile of your shopping behavior. That data powers targeted ads in the app, email campaigns, and even influences which products get shelf space in stores.
For privacy-conscious consumers, this trade-off is increasingly hard to ignore—especially as data breaches and ad-tracking scandals continue to make headlines.
Why Hasn’t Walmart Changed Course?
Despite years of customer complaints and industry shifts, Walmart shows no signs of enabling Apple Pay in the U.S. In 2025, a company spokesperson reaffirmed its commitment to “owning the customer experience” through proprietary tools like Walmart Pay and Scan & Go.
From a business standpoint, it makes sense. Walmart isn’t just a retailer anymore—it’s a tech-driven platform competing with Amazon on multiple fronts: e-commerce, advertising, streaming (via Vizio), and financial services. Controlling the payment layer gives it a strategic advantage in all these areas.
Moreover, Walmart processes billions of transactions annually. Losing even a fraction of that data to anonymized Apple Pay transactions would weaken its ability to optimize pricing, personalize offers, and sell high-value ad inventory to brands.
Still, the stance risks alienating tech-savvy shoppers who value speed and privacy over loyalty-program perks.
Apple Pay’s Growing Dominance—And Walmart’s Isolation
Apple Pay’s adoption has surged in recent years, accelerated by improvements in iPhone hardware, wider bank support, and consumer demand for touch-free payments post-pandemic. Major holdouts have steadily fallen: first Best Buy, then Target, then grocery chains like Kroger.
Today, Walmart stands nearly alone among national retailers in rejecting contactless payments. Even gas stations, fast-food chains, and small businesses now support tap-to-pay. The disconnect is especially jarring given Walmart’s reputation for embracing innovation in logistics and supply chain tech.
Internationally, the contrast is starker. In Canada, where Walmart does accept Apple Pay, shoppers enjoy the same convenience as at other retailers. The fact that the infrastructure exists—and works—makes the U.S. policy feel less like a limitation and more like a deliberate choice.
What This Means for Shoppers in 2026
If you’re a regular Walmart customer who prefers Apple Pay, your options are limited. You can:
- Continue using Walmart Pay (and accept the data trade-off),
- Stick with physical cards or cash (though you’ll miss out on digital receipts and rewards), or
- Take your business elsewhere—something more consumers are considering as alternatives like Target and Costco offer both Apple Pay and competitive pricing.
For Walmart+, the value proposition remains strong if you prioritize convenience like fuel discounts, free shipping, and Scan & Go. But if privacy and payment flexibility matter more, the retailer’s closed system may no longer align with your values.
Who Owns Your Shopping Data?
Walmart’s Apple Pay ban isn’t just about payment methods—it’s part of a larger battle over who controls consumer data in the retail ecosystem. On one side: companies like Apple, advocating for user privacy and minimal data collection. On the other: retailers and ad-tech firms building billion-dollar businesses on behavioral tracking.
As AI-driven personalization becomes standard in 2026, this divide will only widen. Walmart’s stance reflects a belief that deep customer insight is worth sacrificing a little convenience. But as consumers grow more aware of how their data is used—and monetized—they may start demanding both speed and privacy.
Until then, don’t expect to tap your iPhone at Walmart anytime soon. The real cost of that “free” QR code scan might be more than you realize.
