Walmart Reverses Decade-Long NFC Ban to Accept Apple Pay and Google Pay Following Stock Slump
Retailer ends battle against third-party mobile wallets after falling sales growth triggers market drop
Walmart will begin accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay at selected U.S. locations starting August 24. The decision ends a decade-long refusal by the country’s largest retailer to support tap-to-pay services from major technology companies.
The rollout will expand to encompass all Walmart and Sam's Club locations by the end of 2026. Payment support at gas pumps will take longer, with full availability at fuel stations slated for mid-2027.
The strategic shift comes amid mounting financial pressure on the retail giant. Walmart stock recently dropped nearly 9 percent after quarterly same-store sales growth failed to meet Wall Street projections, a decline that followed a sharp sell-off in May when weak earnings guidance caused the retailer’s worst single-day market performance since 2023.
Wall Street analysts closely monitor Walmart’s quarterly metrics because changes in its sales performance often reflect broader shifts in U.S. household spending.
Walmart had resisted third-party mobile wallets since Apple Pay debuted in 2014. At the time, Walmart partnered with other national retailers to back CurrentC, a competing platform that relied on scanned QR codes.
CurrentC fell apart after suffering a data breach prior to its official release and failing to gain traction among shoppers. In response, the retailer launched Walmart Pay within its own mobile app, maintaining control over payment processing inside its stores.
Third-party mobile wallets hide actual credit card numbers behind tokenized data and biometric checks, limiting a retailer’s ability to build detailed consumer profiles for targeted advertising. Industry critics argued that Walmart avoided Apple Pay and Google Pay to protect its ability to collect shopper data.
Despite opening its registers to external mobile wallets, the retail giant confirmed it will continue supporting Walmart Pay. The company did not issue an official statement linking the policy change directly to its financial performance or stock price movements.
The decision brings Walmart into alignment with competitors such as Target and Costco, which added contactless payments to their registers years ago.
