Why Won't Walmart Tell Its Employees They Can't Demand ID For MasterCard Purchases?

Even though — as recently as last week — executives at both Walmart and MasterCard confirmed that it is against both companies’ policies to demand ID for credit card purchases, Consumerist readers and Walmart shoppers are letting us know that the hassle continues.

Reader Adam recently went to his Walmart in Indiana to make a quick purchase and…

I was asked for my ID. Apparently I left it in my car, but no matter, I told the cashier that MasterCard purchases don’t require ID to be present. She said she doesn’t want to get in trouble, and called the Customer Service Manager over. Since this was only a $6.00 purchase, and we had already been waiting for 5+ minutes, I wasn’t going to let this one go.

The Customer Service Manager explained that it is store policy that they require ID for all credit card purchases. I explained, again, that MasterCard agreements state that no ID is required for their transactions. I was denied the sale, and went across the street to Kroger instead. I filed a complaint with the BBB, MasterCard, and Walmart.

In last week’s letter from the MasterCard exec, the company said it had been assured that Walmart “will correct this issue at store level,” but didn’t mention anything the credit card company was specifically doing to make sure the nation’s largest retailer was no longer violating its merchant’s agreement. Of course, since Walmart is the nation’s largest retailer, it sorta makes sense that MasterCard wouldn’t be too demanding.

We’ve asked MasterCard to comment on this story and will update if they have anything of interest to add.

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