Can You Use Walmart Pay For Gas?
In today’s fast-paced world, convenience is king, especially when it comes to filling up your car at the gas station.
Many Walmart shoppers have wondered if they can utilize their Walmart Pay mobile app to pay for gas, streamlining their fuel-purchasing experience.
If you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick answer to your question: No, you cannot directly use Walmart Pay to pay for gas at Walmart fuel stations or Murphy USA gas stations.
Despite this limitation, Walmart offers alternative payment options for gas purchases, ensuring a seamless experience for its customers. This article will explore the available payment methods, delve into the benefits and drawbacks of Walmart Pay, and provide insights into potential future developments.
It will also into the intricacies of Walmart Pay’s compatibility with gas stations, providing a comprehensive guide for savvy consumers.
Understanding Walmart Pay And Its Limitations
Walmart Pay: A Convenient Mobile Payment Solution
Launched in 2015, Walmart Pay has emerged as a popular contactless payment option offered by Walmart, allowing customers to pay with their smartphones.
Here are some key features of Walmart Pay:
- It allows customers to pay using the Walmart app, without needing to take out cash, cards, or even their phones at checkout.
- Customers can simply scan their phone screen at self-checkout or have the cashier scan it.
- It works with any major credit, debit, pre-paid or Walmart gift card.
- Receipts are digitized and stored in the app.
According to Walmart, over 32 million customers have used Walmart Pay since its launch, processing more than 1.5 billion transactions so far. Its contactless functionality has made it popular, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walmart Pay’s Current Limitations In Gas Payments
While Walmart Pay can be used seamlessly in Walmart stores, there are some limitations to its use at gas stations currently:
- It cannot be used to pay directly at the gas pump of Walmart gas stations.
- To buy gas, customers need to go inside the gas station store and can pay with Walmart Pay there.
- At other gas stations like Exxon or Shell, Walmart Pay cannot be used at all.
The main reason is that the Walmart Pay system is not set up for authorization at the gas pump yet. Paying inside allows the cashier to process the transaction like a regular store purchase.
Walmart has hinted at rolling out the capability to use Walmart Pay directly at gas station pumps in the future, which would greatly increase its utility for customers.
Alternative Payment Methods For Gas Purchases At Walmart
Using Credit/Debit Cards At Walmart Fuel Stations
Paying with a credit or debit card is one of the most convenient ways to pay for gas at Walmart fuel stations. Simply insert or tap your card at the pump, enter your zip code, and start fueling.
Walmart accepts all major credit and debit cards including Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. Using a credit/debit card allows you to quickly pay at the pump without having to go inside the store. It also gives you protections like fraud monitoring and purchase protections that cash does not.
According to a 2021 Walmart shopper survey, over 80% of customers preferred paying for gas with a debit or credit card over other payment methods.
Paying With Cash At Walmart Fuel Stations
While less convenient than card payments, Walmart does accept cash for gas purchases. To pay with cash, you’ll need to estimate how much gas you need and prepay inside the store.
The clerk will authorize the pump for you. Then go back outside, select the grade of gas you prepaid for, and start fueling.
The pump will stop when you reach the prepaid amount. Paying cash has some benefits – it can help limit overspending on gas and is more anonymous. But you’ll need to go inside twice and won’t earn any credit card rewards.
According to Walmart’s 2021 survey, less than 15% of customers opted to prepay with cash when buying gas.
Utilizing Walmart Gift Cards For Gas Purchases
Walmart allows customers to use Walmart gift cards to pay for gas at Walmart fuel stations. To do so, bring your gift card into the store and hand it to the cashier. Tell them how much gas you want to prepay for.
The cashier will swipe the gift card and authorize the pump. Then head outside to fill up, using the grade you pre-authorized.
This is a convenient way to use gift cards you’ve received rather than having to spend them inside the main store. It also allows you to easily stick to a gas budget by limiting yourself to a prepaid amount.
According to Walmart, gift cards are used to pay for nearly 5% of all gas purchases at their fuel stations.
Benefits And Drawbacks Of Using Walmart Pay
Advantages Of Walmart Pay: Convenience And Security
Walmart Pay brings various benefits for customers who want a fast and easy checkout process.
First and foremost, Walmart Pay allows you to skip the checkout line by paying directly through the app (😍). You can also store multiple payment methods and gift cards on your account for convenience. Moreover, Walmart Pay uses tokenization technology to keep your card details secure during transactions.
According to Walmart, no sensitive financial information is stored on your phone or on their servers (a major advantage over physical cards).
Additional advantages include being able to access your Walmart receipts digitally through the app and the ability to use manufacturer coupons along with Walmart Pay.
You can also view your Savings Catcher deals and earnings via the app. Furthermore, Walmart Pay works with iOS, Android devices, as well as at Walmart gas stations, which makes it widely accessible.
Disadvantages Of Walmart Pay: Limited Availability And Potential Issues
The main drawback of using Walmart Pay is that it’s currently only available in select Walmart stores, though the company plans to expand it.
So you may not be able to use the mobile payment option at your local store yet. Walmart Pay is also not accepted at Walmart Marketplace sellers, only at Walmart-operated stores and gas stations.
Additionally, as with any app, technical problems can occur with Walmart Pay. Users have reported issues where the app fails to load or crashes during checkout.
The app requires an Internet connection, so you may experience trouble completing transactions if you lose connectivity in the store. Make sure your phone is charged enough before using Walmart Pay to avoid problems at checkout.
To summarize, Walmart Pay simplifies checkout and provides security but has limited availability. Technical issues may also pop up. However, as Walmart expands the capability, more customers can experience the convenience of checkout via app.
Exploring Future Possibilities For Walmart Pay And Gas Purchases
Potential Expansion Of Walmart Pay’s Gas Payment Functionality
Walmart Pay currently does not allow customers to pay for gas directly at the pump using the app. However, the popular retail chain could look to expand the capabilities of Walmart Pay in the future to accommodate gas purchases.
There are a few possibilities Walmart could consider to allow gas payment functionality in Walmart Pay:
- Partnerships with major gas station brands like Shell, Exxon, and BP to enable gas payments in-app at the pump
- Integration with gas station loyalty programs to sync rewards and savings when paying from Walmart Pay
- Allowing users to pre-pay for a gas fill up from the app, then scanning a QR code at the pump to activate the pre-paid transaction
Expanding Walmart Pay’s capabilities to cover gas station purchases would provide added convenience for Walmart shoppers. Over 75% of surveyed Walmart Pay users said they would likely use the app to pay for gas if the functionality was available.
With Walmart’s vast customer base, integrating gas payments could also drive more foot traffic to partnered filling stations.
Integration With Third-Party Gas Payment Platforms
If Walmart does not want to build out their own gas payment functionality, another option is integrating with existing third-party gas apps and services.
Walmart Pay could potentially partner with platforms like:
- Upside – Cash back rewards app for gas purchases
- GasBuddy – Locates gas stations and provides price comparison
- Pay with GasBuddy – Pre-pay for gas from app and activate at pump
By teaming up with one of these established gas savings and payment platforms, Walmart could provide a seamless experience within Walmart Pay without having to build their own complex gas payment functionality from scratch.
A partnership with Pay with GasBuddy could be mutually beneficial, offering Walmart access to Pay with GasBuddy’s network of brand name gas stations while providing increased visibility for GasBuddy’s payment service.
No matter the approach, introducing support for gas station payments would be a logical next step for Walmart Pay as it strives to become a true all-in-one mobile payment solution for Walmart shoppers.
Conclusion
While Walmart Pay currently does not support direct gas payments, Walmart offers alternative payment methods, ensuring a convenient gas-purchasing experience for its customers.
Despite its limitations, Walmart Pay remains a valuable tool for streamlining various in-store and online transactions.
Looking ahead, the potential integration of Walmart Pay with third-party gas payment platforms could expand its reach and provide a seamless payment experience for Walmart customers.
As technology evolves, it will be interesting to see how Walmart further enhances its payment options to meet the evolving needs of its customers.
