Walmart to roll out tap-to-pay in Missouri, offering customers a new way to pay

Walmart customers will soon notice a change at checkout.

Walmart is rolling out its new tap-to-pay option at select Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations, giving customers more ways to pay using their phones, smartwatches and other supported devices.

Walmart spokesperson Rob Edie told ABC 17 the rollout in Missouri will continue through September and October.

The new payment option will allow customers to use Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Garmin Pay and supported payment-enabled smartwatches and wearables.

The change is part of the evolution of how consumers pay, from swiping a magnetic stripe, to inserting a chip card and now simply tapping a card or smartphone.

Walmart customers Jeremiah Correia and Staci Smith said they look forward to the upgrade.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” Correia said. “I mainly use Apple Cash. That’s my main form of payment. So I’m excited to be able to come here and actually not have to pull out my physical card every time.”

Smith said the new payment option could also make things easier for customers who accidentally leave their wallets at home.

A couple of years ago, several Walmart stores nationwide were reportedly compromised after a man placed credit card skimming devices on payment machines.

Walmart told federal investigators at the time that more than 27,000 credit cards and 2,000 EBT cards were stolen during the spree.

As more consumers turn to mobile payments, local banks said digital wallets can offer an additional layer of security compared with using a physical card.

According to Callaway Bank, digital wallets can be more secure than using a physical chip card because the customer's actual card number is not shared with the merchant during the transaction.

Instead, the digital wallet creates an encrypted, temporary token that is used to process the payment.

That means even if a merchant's system is compromised, the token is not directly tied to the customer's bank account or card information.

But that doesn’t mean contactless payments are completely risk-free.

The Bank of Missouri said social media posts have circulated showing alleged scams involving sticker overlays placed over contactless payment terminals.

The overlays are designed to blend in with the terminal and could potentially contain technology intended to capture information from a tapped card. In some cases, the legitimate transaction may still go through, meaning a customer might not immediately realize anything is wrong.

The Bank of Missouri cautions, however, that the actual risk and frequency of this type of fraud have not been fully verified by official sources.

The bank notes there is some concern that partial information gathered from multiple sources could potentially be used in identity-related fraud. However, that type of fraud would generally involve multiple layers of compromise rather than a single contactless transaction.

Smith believes there will always be some safety concerns with any form of payment.

“A person can go past your purse or your pocket with a device and take your information,” she said. “But a lot of places have the tap pay. It’s convenient, especially for the college kids.”

Banks recommend consumers should still remain cautious when using any payment method, and to check the payment terminal for anything that looks unusual or out of place, monitor bank and credit card accounts regularly, and report suspicious activity to your financial institution.

There is not yet an exact date for when all Mid-Missouri Walmart stores will have the new payment option. Local Associates in Columbia told ABC 17 they do not yet have a definitive installation date but expect tap-to-pay to be available in the coming months.