Hi Pan. A note from my cousin in Toronto made me think about visiting your website to see what you have been up to lately. I’m glad to see you are still blogging!

The refusal of Walmart and other establishments in the U.S. to accept Apple Pay and other contactless payments has been a sore point for me every time I return to the States. In Spain, I never have to bring my wallet because 99% of vendors accept it. Not in the U.S., however. As you learned, Walmart insists that you use Walmart Pay in their own poorly-designed app if you only carry your phone. Walmart Pay is a pain to use, especially when compared to simply double-clicking the power button on my iPhone.

Another notable holdout until late last year was Home Depot. Three years ago, I went there to buy a ceiling fan, but forgot my wallet. I had to drive all the way home to retrieve it and come back. Thank goodness they finally got on board with contactless payments in October 2024.

Regarding bags at Walmart, it depends on the state or even the city. San Francisco banned plastic bags in 2007 and the state of California followed, albeit with some loopholes, in 2014. Fort Collins, Colorado finally passed a ban in 2022. All of those places will charge for a paper bag if you forget to bring your own bag.

I started using reusable bags in 2007. I already thought that was late, as I had a college classmate who was trying to get me to do so back in 1997! But it has taken a long time for the idea to go mainstream.