Walmart is still refusing Apple Pay when most major retailers have adopted it — here's why

Despite being one of the biggest retailers in the country, Walmart does not provide its shoppers with a seemingly basic service that many of its competitors do. In fact, the retailer has refused to provide that service and has no plans to change its decision anytime soon. The service in question is a tap-to-pay option at checkout. The retailer has maintained its distance from NFC-based payments through platforms such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

It may be frustrating for shoppers who might have left their card or cash at home and visited the store. The same could be said for young people who are more used to NFC-based payments. Walmart, however, has remained firm in its stance that it won’t allow such payments. But that is not to say that there aren’t any contactless payment options at its stores. It has its own technology that it wants customers to use.

The Walmart Pay app is the one shoppers mostly use for a contactless payment experience at one of its stores. The Walmart app also has a Scan and Go feature, which allows Walmart Plus and Sam's Club members to skip the checkout lane, as per a report in Business Insider. Even so, those unfamiliar with the store’s policies are often left surprised when they learn Apple Pay won’t be accepted, including famous YouTuber Mr. Beast.

So why does Walmart not take a page out of its competitors’ books and accept the NFC-based payments? Well, there is more than one reason for that. Firstly, it is a cost-cutting strategy. The retailer has 5,200 stores in the country, each with several checkout lanes. For such payments to be accepted, the hardware needs to be upgraded in every single location. Not only will that disrupt operations, but it will also cost the retailer a ton of money.

And with a contactless payment system of its own, Walmart does not need to rely on anything else. The second reason why this is the case is data collection. Payments through Apple Pay are often anonymized when it comes to card details, making it difficult for a retailer to link purchases to a particular shopper. Walmart does not want to do this as it believes in delivering a seamless shopping experience to everyone.

Without collecting purchase data, the retailer cannot send relevant offers to customers about their products. Some might actually prefer it if the retailer did not do that in the first place. Of course, every retailer tries to collect purchase data to link a customer to certain products. The retailer may accept NFC-based payments as it is quite popular with a certain age group, but not in the near future.

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