Walmart Making Changes to Savings Catcher Program
Shop at Walmart? 🛒
If you’re a Walmart shopper, their Savings Catcher program and Walmart Pay are two great tools to ensure that you’re not paying too much for your purchases and can pay (and get receipts) easily. Specifically, Walmart’s Savings Catcher compares your receipts to advertised prices from top stores in your area and if it finds a lower advertised price, you’ll get the difference back in a Walmart eGift card!
Within one week after picking up your groceries, just enter your Walmart Grocery receipt into the Savings Catcher section on the Walmart mobile app. Your rewards are automatically transferred to a Savings Catcher eGift Card each time they’re earned, and the eGift Cards are automatically saved to your Walmart.com account. You can then use the rewards to shop both online or in-store.
NEW Changes to Savings Catcher…
Effective October 29th, 2018, Savings Catcher changed their accepted payment methods and Walmart Pay is now the only way to submit your receipt to Savings Catcher. Due to this change, the ability to scan paper receipts within the app or submit via desktop is now discontinued. However, this change will allow you to both submit and spend your Savings Catcher rewards within the same Walmart Pay experience.
Here’s how Savings Catcher works now:
Rather than scanning paper receipts using the Savings Catcher scanner after paying, you’ll simply create an eReceipt using the Walmart Pay scanner when paying. Here’s how:
- Enroll in Walmart Pay.
- Use Walmart Pay at checkout to create an eReceipt for submission:
- Open Walmart Pay and select credit, debit, or gift card.
- Use Walmart Pay to scan the QR code at the register to generate your eReceipt.
- Tap “Submit Receipt” directly from your Walmart Pay confirmation page or from your Savings Catcher dashboard on the Walmart app
What are the benefits of using Walmart Pay?
- One touch submissions: Submit your eReceipt before even leaving the store!
- Save time and space: Reduce wallet and purse hassles when you turn your phone into your secure mobile wallet.
- Store your purchase history: Find your past purchases in your Purchase History, easily reorder your essentials, or start a Mobile Express Return—all within the app!
- Print eReceipts for cash back apps: Select a purchase from your Purchase History, share, and print from your phone or email yourself your eReceipt. Then submit for cash back apps like Ibotta and Checkout51.
I purchase most groceries here because of saving catcher but after October 29 Walmart will not be a priority. This makes it too difficult for my husband to use. Most likely they were paying out more than they wanted to and this will cut it down considerably.
I agree! My children shop for me often and they will not be able to scan at the register. I will consider shopping Amazon from here on out.
Basically it’s Walmart trying to get more people to use Walmart Pay. I bet after awhile, if the Savings Catcher program isn’t being used as often, they’ll get rid of it saying that it’s not popular anymore. I don’t want to have to input my credit card # on Walmart Pay, which is how I usually pay. I also don’t want to have to go through all those extra steps just to submit a receipt to Ibotta or Checkout 51.
Savings Catcher was a significant factor to shop at Walmart. It will be discontinued at my store at the end of October. If I’m being forced to switch to a different store and will be required to enroll in Walmart Pay, there is no reason to continue grocery shopping at Walmart. I’ll shop at Aldis, BJs and my local grocery store. Bye bye Walmart
I agree. I still wonder how they decided which stores were not going to participate in Savings Catcher. My store is one of them. I refuse to drive 30 minutes to the next Walmart just to use the Savings Catcher.
I didn’t save a lot through the savings catcher but it was a nice little treat to buy Home decor with. Guess I’ll drive the extra mile to Fred Meyers were I can get gas points and better produce.
I’ll be shopping at Walmart even less after this. The savings catcher was supposed to replace price matching, which it isn’t very good at. Now Walmart Pay is making it impossible to get any money back for anyone who pays with cash.
This will not save save me time as I’m slow signing in and paying. If I continue with Walmart I’ll be holding up the lines plus I wont be able to submit my husband’s receipts . He doesn’t use his phone much and doesn’t use apps. This is just another way to save Walmart $$! It’s always what best benefits a company not consumer!
Just think of the food stamp users and WIC checks that won’t be able to be used so the price matching. Walmart lost their minds forcing people to put a credit card on their phone when a lot of people wont’ tie a cc to their phone for security reasons.
I currently use Walmart Pay and Savings Catcher. Most of the time, when I pay using Walmart Pay, I get an error message when I try to automatically submit the receipt to Savings Catcher. The ones that do get submitted rarely if ever get me any money back. If Walmart is making Walmart Pay the only way to submit receipts to Savings Catcher, they need to make sure it works correctly first.
Does this mean we will not be able to accumulate savings on our e-gift card? That’s a bummer. That’s the excitement of shopping at wal-mart and submitting my receipts. Safeway is only a block from my house so I guess I’ll just shop there now.
Agree – I like to save my “Savings” to use at Thanksgiving or Christmas to help offset some of these larger than normal grocery bills. I don’t want Walmart deciding when I use my savings. And, husband shops more than I do, but I have the app. So – good job Walmart of taking yet another positive and turning it into a negative.
I use Walmart Grocery pickup weekly. It’s awkward but I’ve been able to cut and paste the TC # to Saving Catcher. Saving Catcher is one of the main reasons I shop at Walmart. Kroger’s also has grocery pickup and sometimes cheaper prices.
How does this work when trying to rdeem iBotta or other reward apps?
I was wondering this too! I definitely will not use Walmart pay if there isn’t a receipt to submit on ibotta or S*
Basically if you pay with cash, you can’t use savings catcher anymore.
Awful! Wal-mart makes things even harder for its customers. Higher and higher prices and any way to have some savings is taken away: price-matching-gone, lower prices-gone, savings catcher made easy-gone. Soon they’ll take it away too.
Boo. I only have a work phone which only allows certain apps, and my iPad doesn’t have cellular. So basically this means the end of Savings Catcher for me. Also, all the stuff on Walmart Pay just indicates it’s for in-store purchases. So, what if you order for delivery or pickup from the Walmart Grocery app…Does that use Walmart Pay or will that be an exception? I too was incentivized to shop specifically at Walmart due to Savings catcher, but guess that incentive is going away for me….,
My question is when they switch to this , if you pay by cash will you be able to use savings catcher? Will scanning the barcode with walmart pay on the credit card reader work after you pay with cash? or do you scan the barcode before paying?
Yes you can still use savings catcher, you just have to submit the receipt via the Walmart Pay app. You have to scan the Walmart Pay QR code on the card reader (or register screen if doing self check out) BEFORE paying for your purchase. You’ll still get a paper receipt even if you use the Walmart Pay app, regardless of how you pay for your purchase. I use Walmart Pay all the time, it’s been quite easy to use and somewhat of a time saver for me at the register. I have my Savings Catcher money go onto a Walmart e-gift card that’s linked to my Walmart Pay, it ends up using any money on that first before I pay for my purchase.
Time saver? Give me a break. Pulling out your phone, opening an app, logging in, and then scanning the code cannot POSSIBLY save you time over simply paying normally.
Stop astroturfing, obvious Walmart employee.
The email I received says, “Due to this change, the ability to scan paper receipts within the app or submit via desktop will be discontinued. “
What a bunch of garbage… Worst idea ever. How many pay apps should I keep on my phone? LOLOL!!!!
This response is INCORRECT. Michael Weaser asked if you pay BY CASH, will you be able to use Savings Catcher. The correct answer is NO. You also do not get a paper receipt.
No way, I only shop at Walmart for Ibotta rebates anyway. I wait in line forever, the cashiers act like it’s such a bother to use coupons or gift cards. Overall Smith’s is cheaper and the associates are more pleasant. I never have to wait in line and my coupons are accepted. I agree goodbye Walmart!
I don’t use a smart phone except at home to scan a receipt. This change means no more real reason to shop at Walmart. I am not taking my phone to the store and I am not that good at using it anyway. Maybe later
Regardless of how you pay whether it be cash, credit, etc., you’ll still get a paper receipt (at least for now, they might change that in the future, but who knows?). You don’t have to enter credit card info to use Walmart Pay, at least I didn’t when I first signed up for it almost a year ago. You can link a Walmart e-gift card to the account instead, such as the one you get from Savings Catcher, if you opted for that payment method. At checkout all you have to do is open the Walmart Pay app, sign into Walmart Pay (they offer a fingerprint scan if you have iPhone, if not it’s a 4 digit pin number that you select during setup), then at any time during the transaction just scan the Walmart Pay QR code that’s displayed on the credit card reader or register screen, leave the app open on your phone during the transaction (if you close it off/x out of it, you won’t be able to submit the receipt,) scan your items/let the cashier scan your items, select your payment method (cash, credit, etc), pay for your purchase, get your paper receipt, go back to the Walmart Pay app on your phone (the screen will change once the transaction is complete) and select “submit receipt” to Savings Catcher and you’re done! It will submit your receipt to Savings Catcher and if you get any money back, that money will go to whichever method you have selected for it in Savings Catcher. If you have it setup to use Savings Catcher money, then it will automatically tell you on the credit card reader/register screen that you have X amount of $ to use towards your transaction from Savings Catcher before you actually pay. I use Walmart Pay all the time and honestly, I find it to be extremely easy to use and more convenient.
You do realize that people spend way more money then they get back with Savings Catcher, right? So at SOME POINT, you have to give them your credit card information.
There is no way to spin this. This is a RIDICULOUS change that will make the shopping experience WORSE. IT will slow things down, as people have to log onto their phones, open the app, enter the password or whatever rather than just paying normally. And the cashiers at Walmart have NO CLUE how to use Walmart Pay either. So you better go to a self checkout.
No, you DO NOT get a paper receipt and they tell me they have no way to give me one when using Walmart Pay.
I shop at Walmart more than anywhere else because of the savings catcher program. Walmart will no longer be my go to because I refuse to connect my credit card or debit card to Walmart Pay. Hopefully they will rethink the change.
I won’t be able to use as I don’t have a smart phone. As it is now I have a bunch of money built up but I can only use it online.
Agreed completely. The website itself is a joke attempting to find something. I shop online when I need something delivered. I would NEVER shop online to “pickup” at the store. How stupid is that???? Good luck, I plan on using mine all up and never participating again.
Stop parroting the WAlmart spin and trying to make it look like this is a move to HELP consumers. All this means is that if you are not willing to let Walmart track you, AND give Walmart’s app access to your credit card information, then you can no longer use Saving’s Catcher. This is nothing more than Walmart’s desperate attempt to save their failing Walmart Pay after realizing that people don’t want to have payment apps for every damn store they shop at when they already have Android Pay.
And obviously, if you don’t have a smart phone, you are no longer welcome to match prices. This in NO WAY benefits anyone. Hell…even if you just prefer paper receipts because you don’t spend your life online and like having hard copies of things to help you organize your finances, you are no longer welcome to use Walmart Pay.
This seems to be a way to phase out Savings Catcher entirely. When the use of it drops dramatically, they will claim that there demand for it is no longer there. So now there will be no Savings Catcher and no price match like they used to have.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Total phase out of Savings Catcher is on the horizon and so: BOOM, we gone!
I cut way back on my Wal-Mart shopping when they stopped ad matching but I have “slipped” a little recently just because there are so few places to shop in my small town. Thank you Wal-Mart for reminding me just how much I hate doing business with your company. I’ll go out of my way NOT to shop there again.
Perhaps it is time we joined together in blowing up their social media pages with our displeasure.
After October I will more than likely stop shopping at Walmart. In today’s world of financial fraud these mobile pay apps are a nightmare. I refuse to support a company that will restrict ones ability to choose payment in order to save money. Walmart in my area has already stopped having more than two checkers at a time causing more work for customers. It is not worth it to have to be forced into a payment when I can find deals in other stores.
I am very upset by the changes that you can only submit receipts for using what you already have saved up, it takes us a while to get enough money to use with the savings catcher so I do not use the Wal mart pay to get my groceries and if that is the only way, I guess will have to stop using savings catcher all together. so sad they are forcing people to use wal mar pay!!!!!!!!!!!!! so SAD!!!!!! forcing you to use it and I do not only once when I had enough money to spend!!!!!
The Walmart near me is outrageously priced. I save so much by driving an hour one way to shop at Kroger and aldi. After they stopped price matching, I stopped almost all shopping there. I earn next to nothing on savings catcher. It won’t be any different in Walmart pay. I won’t be force to use my phone to save.
I probably will not be shopping as much at Walmart with these new changes. I don’t think the techno weenies at Walmart took their client base into consideration when they came up with this scheme. I see too many people who cannot use the self checkout at Walmart and now you want them to depend on paying with their phone. Which takes me to just that.
So while I have a smartphone, I primarily use it as a phone of all things. The only reason I dumped my dumb flip phone was that it was starting to have problems with reception and I had such limited choices to replace it. But the main thing is that I do not want to put pay information on my phone. They are too easy to lose and while the apps and Walmart’s servers may be secure, there is always someone trying to find out exactly how secure they are. Eventually they will find the weak spot and it will be all over.
Regardless, this is not a well thought out change. What it looks to be is an efficiency move on Walmarts part without considering what the client base really needs.
I wonder how this is going to work with grocery pickup? You currently cannot use Walmart pay on that site/app.
Ever since they stopped price matching I went from using them 80 percent of the time to 20 percent anyway. I don’t use price catcher since it is for name brand items which I usually dont buy .
I share our account with my daughter in college in case she needs some emergency money. Forcing it to be used this way is going to make it near impossible to continue to help her through this program. Walmart; no I’m not going to be the ignorant “BOYCOTT WALMART” sheeple, because we all know nobody will. However, I do promise you that you will no longer receive our total loyalty.
I used my total amount of Savings Catcher yesterday at Walmart. It didn’t work right most of the time anyway, and didn’t give me much savings. not worth the hassle. I need a receipt. Much easier when returning an item, checking prices,etc. I just ended up calling them when they messed up, to correct their mistakes. not worth my time and aggrivation.
How can I find out which Walmart stores are discontinuing Savings Catcher? I received an email from Walmart that at least one of the stores from which I submitted a receipt is discontinuing the program, but since there are three in my area, I don’t know which one it is.
Won’t be using Savings Catcher anymore. I was happy to print out my egift card to use and won’t use Walmart pay. Makes me have less of a reason to shop Walmart.
Where can I go to complain?
Hmm, maybe try contacting Customer Service. Hoping that helps!
I am not excited about these changes either. I don’t want to use Wal-mart pay for security reasons. I also shop using cash. I, too, will be more likely to shop elsewhere in my town and/or at Amazon.com since it will be easier in the long run. Bummer about the changes.
Here’s the problem everybody has missed. Walmart Pay doesn’t allow you to get cash back when you use it. So if you want cash back your screwed by Walmart because if you need cash back you can’t use Walmart Pay meaning NO savings catcher. The only loophole I can see is to literally force a second transaction by buying a candy bar or something cheap as hell to be able to get cash back. It’s stupid and shouldn’t be happening it inconviences customers and as a stock holder of Walmart as a former employee from my much younger years it seems counter intuitive to make it harder for your customers. Seems to me Walmart is doing their damndest to stop price matching. They keep it up it’s going to seriously alienate people and they will start grocery shopping elsewhere!
I saw the email notification and it sounds less convenient than scanning receipts in at home. Trying to check out, digging in my purse, logging in, sifting through options while keeping an eye on my grandson as a long line of people wait for me to get out of the way-how is this easier or time saving? The only reason why I put the app on my phone was for the Savings Catcher. I’m going to use up whatever is left in it and delete the app.
I do not like this. First they stopped price matching and now this.
I only go to walmart for things I cant get at Aldis but I chose walmart over Krogers because of the savings catcher. I pay with cash so walmart pay does me no good. Krogers is closer and will be getting my business instead. This was such a stupid move by walmart.
I will be shopping amazon! This change is too complicated – they are going to save money because NO ONE will use it!
I will be less likely to shop at Walmart because of this as well. Not a good choice by them in my opinion.
My Walmart shopping dropped substantially when they quit price matching in the store. Savings catcher is a joke because they only match one store here. I use savings catcher only to catch sale prices I miss. I am not using Walmart pay just to maybe get 3 cents back. I used to do about 90% of my shopping at Walmart. I worked there for years. When they quit price matching my Walmart shopping probably dropped to 50% but then I bought a Costco membership so it’s decreased even more since then. I would say I am down to maybe 30%. I will just have to be more careful with what I buy at Walmart. They continue to come up with more and more reasons for me not to buy groceries there. My store’s bonuses are way down from a few years ago and more than one cashier believes it’s because they discontinued price matching.
This will likely make me shop at Walmart even less. I have become a less frequent shopper there when they discontinued price matching last year. Now I won’t even be able to use Savings Catcher. I have no desire/interest in using my phone with a stored card to pay. Not one bit.
will not be doing all of my shopping there
I agree this is a bad move, Walmart! Those without smartphones and those whose phone dies while in the store, and cash payers lose. Also, if I have my husband or kids pick up groceries for me, I lose. Why shop at Walmart?
I usually go to walmart for all my groceries b/c of this program, however after this change I will just start going to a couple of different to get the same stuff. I use mainly cash, I guess walmart doesn’t care what customer they will lose due to this change.
Why change a program that works now for so many? I use Savings Catcher now and will not be adding another app to my phone. The Savings Catcher included in the wal mart app should be still used. I say no to another download. Use what works now!!!!
I agree the only reason I shop at Walmart is because of the saving catcher if it’s going to be this difficult to get your receipts submitted I won’t be using them. My family as well go shopping for me and bring the receipts for me to scan it will be complicated and not worth the hassle. Walmart is a stressful unpleasant environment I will do my shopping at Kroger or Publix from here on out after October 29th.
Me too….I’m not going through any of that hassle. I’m finding Walmart stocking fewer of the items that drew me in in the first place also. Their store upgrading is downgrading my satisfaction.
What about the customers paying with EBT cards? That is the food stamp card through the goverment, for those unfamiliar. According to Walmart’s website, it says you can’t use Walmart pay for EBT or WIC (for Mom’s and babies). So if that’s all a person is buying, is food, and paying with a food card….they can’t have their groceries compared for price adjustments? I will say that groceries is the main item that will be price checked and within a month’s time of moderate grocery purchase, the app has found lower prices and we have $9 currently…that’s over a hundred dollars in savings each year. That money can be used toward the purchase of household essentials…toilet paper, soap, toothpaste, otc medicine etc. People using EBT cards can obviously greatly benefit from the CURRENT Savings Catcher. It is easy to use right now. We need to Walmart know, there is other options if they are going to make it this complicated for people to save money. Plus, many people don’t have access to smart phones…no other way to pay because they don’t have a credit card or money for that…no understanding of apps or flat out, aren’t comfortable paying this way and not having a paper receipt. All that, in addition to the customers using EBT cards or WIC etc.
You can pay with cash using Walmart Pay. You have two options. Put all that cash onto a walmart gift card and then enter the gift card into Walmart app. Or, join the rest of us in the 21st century and get a bank account , along with a debit card attached to it. Then put your debit card into Walmart Pay. This isn’t rocket science. This is like what we went through trying to train people not to pull out their checkbooks to pay for groceries. Believe it or not, some people STILL do pay by checks… holding up the rest of the line for an additional 5-10min. Walmart Pay speed everyone up. No playing around with paper receipts, money, checks or coins. Prep your phone while waiting in line, so when its your turn, just turn on the screen and hit scan. You’re done!
A royal nuisance. Now, buy a smartphone that could cost hundreds of dollars to maybe save a nickel here, a quarter there. And what a pain, take out the phone, open settings, open internet and enable mobile, locate the Walmart icon, hope to push the right button and wait, no paper receipt? Oh, and don’t forget, push the little button that says “submit receipt” if you notice it. Go back to settings, open internet, disable mobile data, Holy carp. And yes, the Walmart I use does not have a hotspot, or at least not one that my phone could sense. Enabling and disabling mobile data (cellular) is necessary to avoid downloading data/updates unnecessarily which could get expensive if you are not on an unlimited data plan, like me.
It was so easy to swipe my card, get a receipt and just enter the numbers online.
Now I’ll be going to another local grocer first to stock up on sale and BOGO items before going to Walmart, if at all.
WTF Walmart, what were you thinking?