Introduction
Payments at most of the departmental stores in America are made through Apple Pay by a large number of its iPhone users. But does America’s most prominent store Walmart accept Apple Pay? Can you make your payments through Apple Pay at any Walmart store? To know the answer, do read the full article Does Walmart take Apple Pay?
Walmart is one of America’s best department stores, where you can buy groceries and other stuff at the best-discounted price. But when it comes to payment, surprisingly you can not pay them digitally through your Apple Pay service. It is because Walmart accepts digital payments only through its Walmart Pay app and not by any other digital payment app all over the US.
So if you want to pay at Walmart digitally, you have to download their app, list your purchases there and then pay accordingly. Now the question arises, unlike other departmental stores of the country, why Walmart doesn’t accept digital payment via Apple Pay which is used by most Americans? Secondly, how can one make payments at Walmart stores without using Apple Pay?
The other methods of payments at Walmart
Walmart doesn’t accept Apple Pay, which doesn’t mean that you can only pay through Walmart Pay app for your purchases. For no contact pay, the Walmart Pay app is the only option at the store, but if you don’t want to download the app, you can also complete your payment by offering cash. Similarly, for cashless payments, you can make use of any of your Debit Card or Credit Card, VISA, or MasterCard of any bank.
- iPhone users can use Walmart App to make digital payments
If you think, an iPhone user can’t make digital payments at a Walmart store, then you are wrong. If you are an iPhone user, you can pay digitally by downloading the Walmart app on your device. This app could be downloaded on both iPhone and Android mobile operating systems.
Additionally, the app is not too complex to use and handle so you can easily pay for your purchases at stores without any contact. For accessing the app, you just need to link your bank account with the app and secure it with a PIN or touch ID.
- Why not Apple Pay
There are several reasons Walmart doesn’t take Apple Pay. The reasons include technical as well as marketing aspects for the firm.
- Use of different technologies to make digital payments.
The very first reason why Walmart doesn’t accept Apple Pay is that Apple Pay makes use of Near Field Communication (NFS) technology like any other digital payment app. Whereas Walmart uses QR codes.
- To save extra processing fees
Secondly, Walmart uses the personally developed app that prevents it from paying extra processing fees, allowing it to make some extra profit. The profit margin of Walmart is already low because of the discounts it offers. In such a case paying processing fees after receiving payment from digital payment apps would further reduce its profit.
- Walmart’s Marketing Strategy to increase its digital users
It is actually the marketing strategy of Walmart not to accept digital payments from digital payment apps like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. As Walmart has its app that provides digital payment options for its customers, any other app is an obvious competition. So to prevent other apps from capturing its users, Walmart doesn’t take Apple Pay. The strategy is, by not accepting digital payments through Apple Pay, Walmart is increasing its digital users.
- To Track the customer behavior
If payments are made through a third-party app, Walmart couldn’t track the activities and purchases of its customers. But with its personally developed app, Walmart tracks the past purchases of its customers and uses this information to plan out a better promotional idea. This helps the store to establish a better on-ground connection with customers.
How to use Walmart App?
Using Walmart’s app for digital payment is not a complex task. It is as simple as any other digital payment apps like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. You can understand the payment procedure of Walmart Pay in four simple steps –
- Download the Walmart App on your iPhone and set PIN or fingerprint for protection.
- Link your Debit/Credit Card with the app. Also, choose the preferred card for your payments. Walmart also offers gift cards for paying at its store. Gift cards are always the first preference of payments.
- You can go shopping once you are all set with the above settings. Select the items you want to buy and checklist them at the counter.
- Scan the QR code and pay the bill of your purchase after entering the security PIN or touch ID.
FAQs
- Can I use Walmart Pay on the Apple watch?
Answer: No, Walmart Pay couldn’t be used on the Apple watch. But Walmart has introduced a special Walmart watch app in 2020. Through this app, you can track your shopping requirements via your Apple watch.
- Will Walmart accept payments from Apple Pay in the future?
Answer: According to Walmart’s spokesperson, there are no plans for Walmart to allow third-party apps for making digital payments. Walmart has its app for making contactless payments and it also accepts cash and card payments. So, there is no need for Walmart to change its policy.
- Can we use Apple Pay for
online shopping from Walmart?
Answer: While doing online purchases also, one cannot pay using Apple Pay. You can only use Walmart App for online shopping and digitally paying the bills.
