Throughout the past year, numerous long-time holdouts have finally succumbed to pressure and adopted Apple Pay. Currently, the largest remaining holdout in the United States is Walmart, which today reaffirmed its lack of intentions to modify its position.
Walmart’s Position on Apple Pay Remains Unchanged
For many years, Walmart has maintained that its proprietary payment technologies outrank Apple Pay in effectiveness. In 2016, Walmart introduced “Walmart Pay” across the nation. This system allows customers to scan a QR code during checkout, completing their payments via their mobile devices. Furthermore, the company has a “Scan & Go” feature that enables shoppers to bypass checkout lines entirely, though there are restrictions regarding when this can be utilized.
At one stage, Walmart even attempted to validate its decision by claiming that Walmart Pay is more widely utilized than Apple Pay, a contention that raised eyebrows.
A spokesperson from Walmart told MacRumors that the company believes their “convenient solutions” eliminate the necessity for the retailer to accommodate Apple Pay:
We do not accept NFC and instead have implemented convenient solutions, such as Walmart Pay, that provide our customers easy, touchless payments on any smartphone. We have also invested in innovative technologies that go beyond payments, such as Scan & Go, which allow Sam’s Club and Walmart+ members to bypass the checkout altogether, providing a truly touchless shopping experience.
It’s fair to say that most Walmart shoppers would significantly disagree with this perspective. A brief search on social media shows that many Walmart customers express considerable frustration regarding the absence of Apple Pay support.
What lies behind Walmart’s refusal to support Apple Pay? My belief is that it primarily revolves around data collection. Apple Pay incorporates several privacy measures that hinder merchants from accessing transaction histories, complicating the process for retailers like Walmart to monitor customer purchasing patterns. This tracking is crucial for Walmart to develop customer profiles for targeted advertising, marketing initiatives, and more.
While Walmart continues to forgo Apple Pay, other former holdouts have begun to embrace it. Kroger, for instance, introduced Apple Pay support in 2023, followed by grocery store chain H-E-B and Home Depot.
Has Walmart’s decision to not support Apple Pay influenced your shopping behaviors? Do you think there’s a possibility that the retailer will eventually adopt the platform? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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