Walmart ends a decade of refusing phone wallets

Issue #123 • Monday 24 August 2026 • Catch-up run, gap 3 days • 24 new items across 12 sections

Walmart began accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay at selected US stores and Sam's Club locations, with all its US stores and clubs to follow by the end of 2026, ending roughly a decade of refusal by the last serious holdout in American retail. Long dated government borrowing costs hit multiyear highs in Britain, Germany, France and the United States. Bitcoin rose about 24 per cent over seven days to around £56,900 ($77,700), its largest weekly gain in more than three years, while US spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds took £1.41bn ($1.92bn) in their strongest week since the autumn of last year. Anthropic found that four AI agents deliberating reach a worse answer than one agent holding all the evidence. Varo Bank and Evolve Bank and Trust published call reports showing what sponsor bank cleanup costs. Five of twelve lenses are heating.