Walmart and Sam's Club to enable tap-to-pay in stores by end of 2026
Walmart and Sam's Club will begin accepting phone and smartwatch payments, starting with select locations on August 24 and expanding to all US stores by year's end.
Retail giants Walmart and Sam's Club are finally rolling out contactless "tap to pay" technology, allowing customers to pay using a smartphone or smartwatch instead of a physical card.
The feature will launch at select Walmart and Sam's Club locations starting Monday, August 24. Full availability across all US stores and clubs is expected by the end of this year. Fuel stations operated by the chains will follow, with rollout there expected to be complete by mid-next year.
Customers will also be able to add eligible Walmart, Sam's Club and OnePay cards to their digital wallets.
A late arrival to contactless payments
The move comes notably late compared to the rest of the retail industry. Apple Pay has existed since 2014, while Google Wallet is even older — retailers including Subway, Macy's and Walgreens began supporting it back in 2011. Contactless credit cards have been available for even longer than that.
Even Home Depot, which only fully adopted tap-to-pay in 2024, managed to beat Walmart to widespread contactless support.
