Walmart is by far one of the most popular retail stores in the U.S. With a variety of offerings at some of the most affordable rates, you’ll certainly find everything you need at Walmart. For obvious reasons, customers now prefer contactless payment through digital wallets. Especially, Apple Pay has become a new standard with a very wide user base.
Walmart stores also have self-checkout points where customers can buy, scan, and play on their own without having to wait in line. But does Walmart take Apple Pay or other digital wallets? Here’s what you need to know about the incompatibility between Walmart and Apple Pay.
Does Walmart Take Apple Pay?
Unfortunately, the answer remains no in 2022. Whether you’re paying the cashier or using the self-checkout, there is no support for Apple Pay when you are buying from Walmart. Not only that, you cannot pay using your mobile via Google Pay or Samsung Pay However, if all you want is to pay quickly using your iPhone and get out of the store, then there is another option. Simply use Walmart Pay. Just as easy and as convenient. But let us first explain the reasons why Apple Pay remains unsupported at Walmart even in 2022.
Why Walmart Does not Accept Apple Pay?
People may surely find it difficult to have an answer to this question. Considering the popularity of Apple products and their increasing users, it should’ve been the complete opposite. Let’s uncover some of the reasons why.
1. Save Processing Fees With Walmart pay
The main reason is not that difficult to understand. Walmart wants the customers to use its own digital app “Walmart Pay”, which helps them to prevent any extra processing fees. From a leading retailer’s perspective which provides goods at a consumer-friendly rate, this is very necessary to increase the profit margin also.
2. Send Recommendations Through User Data
With third-party wallets like Apple Pay, Walmart wouldn’t be able to track user activities and purchases, which is very important to improve sales through necessary notifications within the Walmart app. With their own app, Walmart uses the purchase information to plan better promotional events and customer recommendations.
3. Better Customer Ecosystem
With its online shopping app and its easy payment methods, Walmart has built its financial ecosystem which doesn’t only help with contactless payments but is also able to secure digital receipts within their account and understand purchase patterns. Digital receipts are very convenient for customers for returns during unfortunate experiences.
How To Pay At Walmart Using Your iPhone?
All iPhone users can simply download the official Walmart App from the App Store and set it up in the following way.
- Sign up for the account. Go to services, Walmart Pay, and link your credit/debit card to Walmart Pay.
- Now you can start your shopping at your nearest Walmart store.
- Once you’ve added everything to your basket, scan the QR code at any checkout point at Walmart and you’re done.
This gets even quicker for “Walmart Plus” members who can use Scan & go. You are allowed to scan the barcodes of items on your own using your iPhone. When you are done adding everything to your cart, go to the checkout point and pay by scanning the QR code.
This way you don’t have to wait for your turn to scan your items. Take the item you want, scan its barcode with your phone, scan the QR code at checkout, and you’ve already paid for everything. Your receipt will be saved in your Walmart account, just like an online purchase.
The Benefits of Using Apple Pay
The benefits of using Apple Pay lie within the name itself. Apple provides some of the best privacy features that no other digital wallet offers. Apple Pay uses one of the most secure payment technology, a neat field communication system (NFC). You don’t have to worry about someone getting your PIN info because there isn’t one. Apple’s most reliable face or touch ID makes payments even more secure. Another benefit is that there is no need for you to worry about saving your receipts as Apple Pay automatically does that for you. All transactions are stored privately with your choice of security like a Pin, Face ID, or Touch ID.
How Does Walmart Pay Compare To Apple Pay?
Walmart Pay and Apple Pay are only similar in the way that both connects your debit/credit cards with their own digital wallet to help you with contactless payments. However, both have completely different communication methods.
Walmart Pay uses a QR code system that can only be used at Walmart. On the other hand, Apple Pay uses the NFC chip technology which is more versatile, secure, and accepted at most of the major retailers.
Another Alternative To Apple Pay
As we know, Walmart wants you to use its own QR-based system, there is one way to use Apple Pay. Though keep in mind that it depends on your luck whether the store accepts your payment and may only work for certain items. This can be done via the “Ibotta” cash bak app. This app allows you to pay using your debit/debit card and also Via Apple Pay. At the checkout point, open the Ibotta app and enter your checkout total choose your payment option between debit/credit card or Apple Pay.
If this was helpful, you’d surely like to know Does Lowe’s take Apple Pay?
Will Walmart Take Apple Pay in The Future?
According to an interview conducted with Walmart spokesperson Erin Hulliberger, Walmart Pay is created and developed as an exclusive form of payment option that can only be used at Walmart. Walmart Pay is available right into the Walmart app to facilitate secure and timeless contactless payments and it is highly unlikely that Walmart will ever accept Apple Pay shortly. This is
Conclusion
For those who’ve missed the point, Walmart doesn’t take Apple Pay nor the company plans to make that option available in the future. This is to promote their own digital wallet Walmart Pay, which allows customers to link their cards within the app and make contactless payments at the store. While you may not consider Walmart Pay as seamless and as versatile as Apple Pay (or other popular NFC terminals like Google Pay or Samsung Pay), it is still a very secure and reliable option for digital payments if you regularly purchase from Walmart. You may also like to know whether Home Depot accepts Apple Pay.
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