Walmart Drops Longtime Resistance to Tap to Pay in Stores Nationwide
Retailer will roll out contactless checkout across all U.S. stores and Sam's Club locations by year's end
Starting Monday, August 24, Walmart and Sam’s Club will begin enabling tap to pay at select checkout registers across the United States. The initial rollout marks the start of a phased deployment aimed at activating contactless payment capabilities across all domestic stores and warehouse clubs by the end of the year. Shoppers will also gain the ability to load eligible Walmart, Sam’s Club, and OnePay cards directly into digital wallets on mobile phones and smartwatches.
Fuel stations operated by the retailer are scheduled to complete the hardware upgrade by mid-2027, according to company rollout plans.
For over a decade, Walmart stood as the most prominent retail holdout against standard near-field communication systems, relying instead on a proprietary QR-code system inside the Walmart app. Other major retail chains adopted standard contactless options far earlier, with Google Wallet entering storefronts such as Subway, Macy’s, and Walgreens in 2011, followed by the debut of Apple Pay in 2014.
Home Depot completed its own transition to contactless payment terminals in 2024, leaving Walmart among the last major nationwide general merchants operating without standard tap-to-pay registers.
