Pigs are flying: Walmart will accept Google Wallet and Apple Pay next week

Credit: Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek Published Aug 21, 2026, 12:14 PM EDT Joe Fedewa has been writing about technology for over a decade. Android and the rest of the Google ecosystem have been a focus for years, as well as reviewing devices, hosting podcasts, filming videos, and writing tutorials. Joe loves all things technology and is also an avid DIYer and food blogger. He has written thousands of articles, hundreds of tutorials, and dozens of reviews. Before joining How-To Geek, Joe worked at XDA-Developers as Managing Editor and covered news from the Google ecosystem. He got his start in the industry covering Windows Phone on a small blog, and later moved to Phandroid where he covered Android news, reviewed devices, wrote tutorials, created YouTube videos, and hosted a podcast. From smartphones to Bluetooth earbuds to Z-Wave switches, Joe is interested in all kinds of technology. After several years of jailbreaking and heavily modifying an iPod Touch, he moved on to his first smartphone, the HTC DROID Eris. He's been hooked ever since. Sign in to your How-To Geek account Tap-to-pay with phones didn’t take off in the U.S. as quickly as in other countries, but it’s now available at most retailers. There’s been one massive hold-out the entire time, though: Walmart. Finally, that’s about to change, and it’s happening very soon. Walmart has announced that, beginning August 24th, it will be adding tap-to-pay options at “select Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations.” The company plans to have it fully rolled out to all U.S. stores by the end of the year, and to gas stations by “mid-2027.” Up until now, Walmart has limited customers to its own Walmart Pay system, which uses cumbersome QR codes at checkout. People have been begging the company to support Google Wallet, Apple Pay, and Samsung Wallet for over a decade. It’s worth pointing out that tap-to-pay extends beyond mobile payments with phones. This means you’ll also be able to tap physical credit and debit cards at the payment terminals as well. Walmart Pay will, of course, continue to be supported as well. Personally, I had my doubts that this would ever happen. Walmart has supported tap-to-pay in countries as close as Canada and Mexico for years. It was clearly a deliberate choice to exclude the U.S. for whatever reason. Thankfully, the company has decided to join the likes of Costco, Target, Kroger, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and many others in the 21st century. Source: Walmart