CINCINNATI — After years of holding out on contactless payments, Walmart is adding tap to pay, allowing customers to use contactless cards, smartphones and smartwatches at checkout.
Contactless payments have become commonplace at major retailers, including Target, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens and Dollar Tree. Walmart, however, remained a notable exception, instead offering Walmart Pay, which allows customers to scan a QR code through the retailer's app at checkout.
WATCH: Why Walmart is finally adding tap to pay
Low prices and deals have long been a draw for Walmart shoppers.
“I come to Walmart for the rollbacks and the low prices,” shopper Michelle Christian said.
But customers have also been persistently asking Walmart for another kind of convenience at checkout: the ability to tap to pay.
“Our customers have been asking us for a long time, ‘Why don’t you have tap to pay?’ And we haven’t had a great answer,” Walmart’s Jayna Hill said.
After years of Walmart holding out, I asked Hill why the company decided to make the change now.
“I think we’re just listening to the community,” Hill said. “Yeah, it’s been a while. But we’re listening to the community; they’ve asked for it, we’ve asked for it for them and now it’s here. We’re so thankful the company has seen this for the benefit that it is.”
What shoppers can use to tap to pay at Walmart
For customers, the biggest benefit is convenience. Shoppers can now make contactless payments using a contactless card, smartphone or smartwatch.
That includes customers who store their payment cards on their phones or smartwatches and are accustomed to using those devices at other retailers.
“You just double tap on your watch. My card comes up and it’s super easy. I don’t have to fuss with getting a credit card out,” one shopper said.
At checkout, customers can tap their contactless card or device on the payment terminal when prompted.
What happens to Walmart Pay and other payment options?
The addition of tap to pay raised another question for shoppers: Does it replace any of the payment options Walmart already offers?
The company says no.
Existing payment options are not changing, meaning customers can continue to use cash, checks or physical payment cards. Walmart Pay and Scan & Go also remain available.
That leaves customers with the same ways to pay they had before, with tap to pay now added to the list.
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