In context: Walmart has remained perhaps the largest opponent to contactless payments for over a decade, preferring to steer customers toward its own proprietary alternative. Following a couple of disappointing quarters, the retail giant appears to have accepted that those efforts never caught on with shoppers.
Walmart has finally ended its years-long battle against contactless payments from tech giants like Apple and Google. The company recently announced that some stores and Sam's Club locations will begin supporting Apple Pay and Google Pay starting August 24.
All locations will support the popular contactless payment systems by the end of 2026, and the rollout will reach fuel stations by mid-2027. Walmart didn't disclose a reason for the sudden change, but the company is likely attempting to bolster its weakening stock price.
Walmart has been one of Apple Pay's biggest holdouts since the NFC payment system launched in 2014. Soon after, Walmart, along with dozens of other retailers, backed an alternative called CurrentC, which worked via QR codes instead. The service was hacked before it even launched publicly and never caught on.
As recently as last year, Walmart stuck to its refusal to accept Apple Pay and Google Pay. Even in the press release effectively announcing its surrender, the company still promoted its current alternative, Walmart Pay.
Walmart and other former CurrentC supporters were always vague about their resistance to Apple and Google's systems, but many suspect customer data was the primary factor. Contactless payment systems authenticate purchases via biometrics without fully exposing the buyer's credit card information and other data.
Also read: How Apple Pay Works
Critics have accused Walmart of using CurrentC and Walmart Pay to harvest customer data for sale and targeted marketing. Anonymous payments through Apple Pay and Google Pay would make that much harder to pull off.
Walmart's reversal follows disappointing earnings reports from May and earlier this month, which have pushed its stock price to its lowest level in about nine months.
Weak earnings guidance in May triggered the company's worst single-day stock performance since 2023, and the stock suffered a nearly 9% decline earlier this week after same-store sales growth for last quarter fell short of expectations. Walmart's same-store sales growth is often treated as a bellwether for overall US household spending.
Walmart will finally accept Apple Pay and Google Pay starting August 24
