Walmart adds tap-to-pay at select US stores & clubs

Walmart is adding tap-to-pay checkout at select Walmart stores and Sam's Club locations in the US, with plans to extend the option to all US stores and clubs by the end of 2026.

The move will let shoppers pay with eligible contactless cards, phones, smartwatches and other supported devices at the till. The rollout will begin in a limited number of locations before expanding across its estate, with fuel stations due to receive the feature by mid-2027.

The change marks a shift for one of the largest US retailers, which until now has relied on a mix of cash, card payments, Walmart Pay and, at Sam's Club, Scan & Go. Under the new setup, shoppers and members will also be able to add eligible Walmart, Sam's Club and OnePay cards to their digital wallets for contactless use.

Customers and members can use digital wallets including Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Garmin Pay, alongside supported contactless credit and debit cards. When a phone is tapped to pay, the default card stored in the customer's digital wallet will be charged.

Checkout options

Existing payment methods will remain in place. Customers can continue to use cash, cheques and card payment options, including swipe and chip insert, while Walmart Pay will remain available through the Walmart app.

At Sam's Club, Scan & Go will continue to operate as it does now. The service allows members to scan items as they shop and pay without going through a traditional checkout line.

Digital wallets such as Apple Pay cannot be used within the current Scan & Go payment flow. Instead, customers using tap to pay must use payment terminals at checkout where the contactless option is enabled.

Contactless EBT will remain limited and is currently available only in select areas.

Wider payments push

The introduction of tap to pay is part of a broader effort by Walmart to expand the payment and money-management tools it offers shoppers. The retailer linked the checkout change to its financial services activities, which include products aimed at saving, building credit and paying over time.

For Sam's Club members, those services also include Sam's Cash and Sam's Club credit, tied to qualifying purchases and member programmes. Walmart has also been building out OnePay, the financial services brand whose cards can now be added to digital wallets for contactless checkout.

The addition of contactless payments brings Walmart and Sam's Club more closely into line with common payment habits across the US retail sector, where consumers increasingly use phones, watches and tap-enabled bank cards at the point of sale. Large retailers have steadily updated checkout systems to support those methods as card networks and mobile wallet providers have expanded contactless acceptance.

Security and support

Walmart said tap to pay uses EMV technology, while digital wallets use tokenisation to help protect payment information. Store staff have been advised to ask customers to try again or follow the prompts on the PIN pad if a contactless payment does not work.

If a payment problem continues, staff have been told to follow normal store processes for resolving payment issues. The introduction of tap to pay does not replace any current payment option, but adds another checkout method for customers and members who prefer contactless transactions.

The rollout starts at selected Walmart and Sam's Club sites before expanding across the company's full US store and club network, with fuel stations scheduled to follow by mid-2027.