USA Retailers & Stores That Support Apple Pay in 2026

Apple Pay is now accepted at more than 85% of retailers in the United States. That covers most of the places you probably shop, including Target, Costco, Best Buy, CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Aldi, Home Depot and hundreds of regional grocery chains.

There are still exceptions, though. Some stores only support Apple Pay at the register, not through their website. Gas stations may accept it inside but not at the pump. Walmart and Sam’s Club have finally started adding it, but their nationwide rollout won’t be finished until the end of 2026.

So, where can you actually use Apple Pay right now?

This guide lists the major US retailers that accept Apple Pay, explains the odd exceptions and shows you how to check an individual location before leaving your wallet at home.

Does Every Store In America Take Apple Pay?

No. But we’re getting pretty close.

According to Apple, more than 85% of US retailers accept Apple Pay. It works through the same NFC terminal used for contactless debit and credit cards, so a store doesn’t always need to advertise Apple Pay by name.

If the card reader shows the sideways contactless symbol, you can normally hold your iPhone or Apple Watch near it and pay.

Apple does not maintain a complete public list of every participating shop. That would be almost impossible anyway. Independent shops can install a contactless Square, Clover or Stripe terminal and begin accepting Apple Pay without appearing in any national directory.

The list below therefore covers the major national and regional retailers where Apple Pay is normally available. Individual branches can still differ, particularly franchises and shops using older payment hardware.

Department Stores And General Retailers That Take Apple Pay

• Belk
• Big Lots
• Bloomingdale’s
• Boscov’s
• Burlington
• Dillard’s
• Five Below
• HomeGoods
• JCPenney
• Kohl’s
• Macy’s
• Marshalls
• Meijer
• Nordstrom
• Nordstrom Rack
• Target
• T.J. Maxx

Target accepts Apple Pay and other contactless wallets at its store registers. You can also use Apple Pay in the Target app, although the payment choices shown may depend on what you’re buying and how you’re receiving it.

Grocery Stores That Take Apple Pay

• ACME Markets
• Albertsons
• Aldi
• Amazon Fresh
• Bashas’
• BJ’s Wholesale Club
• Carrs
• Cub Foods
• Dierbergs
• Food Lion
• FoodMaxx
• Fred Meyer
• The Fresh Market
• Giant Eagle
• Giant Food
• H-E-B
• Hannaford
• Harris Teeter
• Harvey’s Supermarket
• Hy-Vee
• Jewel-Osco
• King Soopers
• Kroger
• Lidl
• Lucky California
• Market Basket
• Meijer
• Pavilions
• Price Chopper
• Publix
• QFC
• Raley’s
• Ralphs
• Randalls
• Safeway
• Save Mart
• Shaw’s
• ShopRite
• Sprouts Farmers Market
• Star Market
• Stop & Shop
• Tom Thumb
• Trader Joe’s
• Vons
• Wegmans
• Whole Foods Market
• Winn-Dixie

Kroger was one of the larger Apple Pay holdouts, but it began rolling out standard contactless payments in 2023. Its regional brands, including Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers and QFC, now commonly support Apple Pay too.

With regional grocery chains, it is worth checking the terminal rather than assuming. Older branches and independently operated stores can be a step behind the rest of the chain.

Pharmacies That Take Apple Pay

• CVS Pharmacy
• Duane Reade
• Rite Aid
• Walgreens

You can also use Apple Pay at many independent pharmacies when they have a contactless card reader. Look for the Apple Pay or tap-to-pay symbol at checkout.

Electronics And Mobile Stores That Take Apple Pay

• Apple Store
• AT&T stores
• B&H Photo
• Best Buy
• GameStop
• Micro Center
• Office Depot
• OfficeMax
• Staples
• T-Mobile stores
• Verizon stores

There is an important distinction here: accepting Apple Pay in a physical shop doesn’t guarantee that the company’s website will show an Apple Pay button.

Online Apple Pay availability can depend on your browser, device and the item being purchased. On an iPhone, iPad or Mac, Safari usually gives you the best chance of seeing it.

Clothing And Shoe Stores That Take Apple Pay

• Abercrombie & Fitch
• Adidas
• Aerie
• Aeropostale
• American Eagle
• Anthropologie
• Banana Republic
• Buckle
• Carter’s
• Champs Sports
• Coach
• Dick’s Sporting Goods
• DSW
• Express
• Famous Footwear
• Finish Line
• Foot Locker
• Forever 21
• Gap
• H&M
• Hollister
• J.Crew
• Journeys
• Kids Foot Locker
• Lane Bryant
• Levi’s
• L.L.Bean
• Lululemon
• Madewell
• Maurices
• Men’s Wearhouse
• New Balance
• Nike
• Old Navy
• PacSun
• Patagonia
• Puma
• REI
• Saks Fifth Avenue
• Saks Off 5th
• Skechers
• Sunglass Hut
• Talbots
• The North Face
• Under Armour
• Uniqlo
• Urban Outfitters
• Vans
• Victoria’s Secret
• Zara

Stores located inside another department store may use the host retailer’s checkout system. This is why a branded concession can sometimes have different payment options from a normal standalone branch.

Beauty And Personal Care Stores That Take Apple Pay

• Bath & Body Works
• Bluemercury
• GNC
• Lush
• MAC Cosmetics
• Sally Beauty
• Sephora
• The Vitamin Shoppe
• Ulta Beauty

Again, beauty counters inside department stores may use the department store’s payment terminals rather than their own.

Home Improvement And Furniture Stores That Take Apple Pay

• Ace Hardware
• At Home
• Crate & Barrel
• Floor & Decor
• Home Depot
• IKEA
• Lowe’s
• Pottery Barn
• RH
• Sur La Table
• Tractor Supply
• True Value
• West Elm
• Williams Sonoma
• World Market

Home Depot and Lowe’s used to be two annoying gaps on the list. Both have since introduced contactless payments at US stores, which means Apple Pay should work at their updated checkout terminals.

Ace Hardware and True Value stores are often independently owned. Most modern terminals will take Apple Pay, but support can differ by location.

Auto Parts Stores That Take Apple Pay

• Advance Auto Parts
• AutoZone
• Firestone Complete Auto Care
• Les Schwab
• O’Reilly Auto Parts
• Pep Boys

Independent repair shops and dealerships are harder to call. Many accept Apple Pay through a portable card reader, but there is no chain-wide rule covering every business.

Pet Stores That Take Apple Pay

• Petco
• PetSmart
• Pet Supplies Plus

Book, Craft, Toy And Music Stores That Take Apple Pay

• Barnes & Noble
• Build-A-Bear Workshop
• Disney Store
• Guitar Center
• LEGO Store
• Michaels
• Party City

Discount Stores That Take Apple Pay

• Dollar General
• Dollar Tree
• Family Dollar
• Five Below
• Grocery Outlet
• Ollie’s Bargain Outlet

Discount chains tend to have a mix of new and old checkout hardware. If contactless payment is disabled at one branch, inserting the physical card may be your only option.

Warehouse Clubs That Take Apple Pay

Costco

Costco accepts Apple Pay at its US warehouse registers and many Costco gas stations. However, the card inside your Apple Wallet still has to use a payment network Costco accepts.

At US warehouses, that generally means using a Visa credit card. Mastercard debit cards may work when processed as debit, but you cannot bypass Costco’s normal card restrictions simply by putting an unsupported card into Apple Wallet.

BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ’s accepts Apple Pay at supported store checkouts. Online and app payment availability may differ from its physical warehouses.

Sam’s Club

Sam’s Club started adding Apple Pay and other tap-to-pay wallets in August 2026. It is a phased rollout, so availability depends on whether your local club has been updated.

Does Walmart Take Apple Pay?

The answer is now yes, but not at every Walmart just yet.

Walmart began rolling out tap-to-pay support at selected Walmart and Sam’s Club locations on August 24, 2026. Supported terminals accept contactless cards and wallets including Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

Walmart says every US store and Sam’s Club location should receive tap-to-pay by the end of 2026. Its fuel stations are on a slower schedule and are expected to receive it by the middle of 2027.

Until the rollout reaches your local branch, you will need to use a physical card, cash or Walmart Pay. Walmart Pay is not Apple Pay. It uses a QR code inside the Walmart app rather than the NFC chip in your iPhone.

If you are shopping at Walmart during the rollout period, check the card terminal for the contactless symbol before trying to tap.

Why Did Walmart Take So Long To Support Apple Pay?

Walmart didn’t ignore Apple Pay because it lacked the technology. It ignored it because Walmart wanted shoppers using its own payment systems instead.

The resistance goes all the way back to Apple Pay’s launch in 2014. Walmart was one of the main retailers behind Merchant Customer Exchange, or MCX, a retailer-controlled payment group developing an Apple Pay rival called CurrentC.

CurrentC was designed to connect payments directly to bank accounts and store cards. For Walmart and the other retailers involved, the attraction was obvious: lower card-processing costs, greater control over payments and better integration with loyalty programs.

There was also an exclusivity agreement. Retailers backing CurrentC were expected to support the group’s payment system instead of competing wallets such as Apple Pay. The problem? CurrentC was clunky, relied on QR codes and never received a proper nationwide launch. The project was effectively abandoned in 2016.

Walmart still didn’t change course.

Instead, it launched Walmart Pay, another QR-based system built into the Walmart app. Sam’s Club also pushed Scan & Go, which lets members scan products and pay through its app.

Keeping payments inside Walmart’s own app gave the company a few benefits:

• It encouraged shoppers to download and regularly use the Walmart app.
• Walmart could connect purchases to customer accounts more easily.
• It could combine payments with receipts, product searches, offers and Walmart+.
• It retained more control over the checkout experience.
• It avoided upgrading thousands of stores purely to support NFC payments.

One common claim is that Walmart rejected Apple Pay because Apple charges retailers an extra fee. That isn’t quite right. Stores generally pay their normal card-processing costs when someone uses Apple Pay. Apple’s own share is usually paid by the card-issuing bank, not added as a separate fee for the retailer.

The fee argument made more sense during the CurrentC era. Walmart wanted customers to use bank accounts and lower-cost payment methods rather than standard credit cards, which typically carried higher processing fees.

By the middle of the 2020s, however, Walmart’s position was becoming difficult to defend. Apple Pay and tap-to-pay had become normal almost everywhere else. Customers expected to tap a phone or card without downloading a retailer’s app, creating an account and scanning a QR code.

Walmart finally backed down in August 2026. It announced a phased tap-to-pay rollout covering Apple Pay, Google Pay, contactless cards and compatible watches.

The rollout started at selected Walmart and Sam’s Club locations on August 24, 2026. All US stores and clubs are due to receive it by the end of 2026, with Walmart fuel stations following by mid-2027.

Basically, Walmart spent more than a decade trying to keep mobile payments inside its own ecosystem. It only changed direction once tap-to-pay became something customers expected as standard, not a nice little extra.

Gas Stations And Convenience Stores That Take Apple Pay

• 7-Eleven
• ARCO
• BP
• Casey’s
• Chevron
• Circle K
• Cumberland Farms
• Exxon
• Family Express
• Kwik Trip
• Love’s Travel Stops
• Marathon
• Maverik
• Mobil
• Murphy USA
• Phillips 66
• QuikTrip
• RaceTrac
• Sheetz
• Shell
• Speedway
• Sunoco
• Texaco
• Thorntons
• Wawa

Gas stations are where things get messy.

A station may accept Apple Pay at the counter but have an older pump outside that requires a physical card. Some fuel brands also process mobile payments through their own app rather than letting you tap your iPhone directly against the pump.

Before inserting a card, look for the contactless symbol on the pump. If it isn’t there, open the fuel company’s app or pay inside.

Does Apple Pay Work At Restaurants?

Yes. While this article is focused on retail stores, Apple Pay also works at a large number of US restaurant chains, including:

• Chick-fil-A
• Chipotle
• Dunkin’
• KFC
• McDonald’s
• Panera Bread
• Starbucks
• Subway
• Taco Bell
• White Castle

You may be able to tap at the register, pay through the restaurant’s app or use Apple Pay at a self-service kiosk. Drive-thru support varies because some restaurants still use card readers that are fixed inside the building.

Can You Use Apple Pay At A Store’s Website?

Sometimes, but in-store acceptance and online acceptance are two separate things.

A retailer might support Apple Pay at every physical register while offering only standard card entry, PayPal or another wallet on its website. The opposite can happen too.

For the best chance of seeing the Apple Pay button online:

1. Use Safari on an iPhone, iPad or Mac.
2. Make sure Apple Pay is set up in Wallet.
3. Add at least one supported payment card.
4. Allow the website to access the billing and shipping information needed for checkout.

If the Apple Pay button does not appear, that checkout probably doesn’t support it for your device, browser or chosen product.

How To Tell If A Store Accepts Apple Pay

Look for either the Apple Pay logo or the contactless payment symbol on the card reader. The contactless symbol looks like four curved lines running from small to large.

You can also:

• Search for the business in Apple Maps and check its payment details.
• Look at the payment page on the retailer’s website.
• Ask a member of staff whether the terminal accepts contactless wallets.
• Hold your iPhone near the reader after the cashier activates it.

Apple Maps can be useful, but don’t treat it as the final word. Store information can be outdated, and a recently replaced terminal may support Apple Pay before the listing is updated.

How To Pay With Apple Pay In A Store

On an iPhone with Face ID:

1. Double-click the side button.
2. Confirm your identity with Face ID or your passcode.
3. Hold the top of the iPhone near the contactless reader.
4. Wait for the checkmark and confirmation tone.

On an iPhone with Touch ID, rest your finger on Touch ID and hold the top of the phone near the reader.

On an Apple Watch, double-click the side button, select your card if needed and hold the watch close to the reader.

You do not normally need to open the Wallet app first.

Why Might Apple Pay Be Declined Even When A Store Accepts It?

An Apple Pay payment can fail for the same reasons as a normal card payment. Common causes include:

• The card issuer declined the transaction.
• The store’s contactless reader is offline.
• Contactless payments are temporarily disabled.
• The wrong card was selected in Wallet.
• Your card has expired or needs to be verified again.
• The retailer does not accept your card’s payment network.
• The purchase requires a payment method Apple Pay cannot provide, such as a store account or specialist financing plan.

Try another card in Wallet first. If that fails, use the physical card or ask the cashier whether the terminal’s contactless function is working.

The Bottom Line

Apple Pay is accepted almost everywhere most people shop in the US. Target, Costco, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe’s, CVS, Walgreens, Aldi, Kroger, Publix and Whole Foods are all covered, alongside a long list of clothing, electronics, pharmacy and convenience chains.

Walmart was the last really obvious hole. That is finally changing, but its 2026 rollout means you still need to check your local store for now.

The easiest rule is this: if the terminal displays the contactless symbol, Apple Pay should work. Just keep a physical card with you when visiting a franchise, an older gas pump or a Walmart that hasn’t received its new payment setup yet.