Walmart teases plans to become America's biggest BANK: Retail giant will trial accounts for staff

Walmart teases plans to become America’s largest BANK: The retail giant will test checking accounts for staff and some customers online, and could end up rolling them out to its 150 million weekly customers

  • The superstore will offer checking accounts to several thousand of its employees in the coming weeks as part of a beta test.
  • Walmart expects to implement banking options for its 1.6 million employees within a year
  • Once the services are available to employees, Walmart will roll them out to its customer base of at least 150 million weekly shoppers.
  • Loans and investments could also be part of the financial services offered.

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Walmart will test a new banking platform among select employees and customers, a test that could reshape the world of personal banking if it’s successful.

The superstore will offer checking accounts to several thousand of its employees in the coming weeks as part of a beta test, with the hope of eventually handling personal banking for its 1.6 million employees within a year.

Once the services are available to employees, Walmart will roll them out to its customer base of at least 150 million weekly shoppers.

If successful, Walmart’s banking could outpace its rivals by taking advantage of its physical infrastructure of 5,335 stores in the US, where 90% of the population lives within 10 minutes.

Loans and investments could also be part of the services offered, according to Reuters.

“We want to be the best retailer, the first and best place people come to shop,” said Walmart CEO Doug McMillon. ‘But we also have aspirations to help improve their lives when it comes to health care and financial services – helping families lower the cost of money and save for the future.’

The superstore will offer checking accounts to several thousand of its employees in the coming weeks as part of a beta test, with the hope of eventually handling personal banking for its 1.6 million employees within a year.

The superstore will offer checking accounts to several thousand of its employees in the coming weeks as part of a beta test, with the hope of eventually handling personal banking for its 1.6 million employees within a year.

Banking would be handled by fintech startup One, which Walmart Inc. began forming with Ribbit Capital in January 2021.

Walmart was unclear about its intentions when it started One nearly two years ago, saying only that it was designed to “develop and deliver modern, innovative and affordable financial solutions,” according to Bloomberg.

But in April, the plan began to take shape, as One combined digital bank account firm One Finance Inc. with early access salary provider Responsible Finance Inc.

One is run by former Goldman Sachs partner Omer Ismail, who left the bank after a nearly twenty-year tenure to join the startup. Although Walmart owns a majority stake in One, it operates independently of the retail giant.

Walmart is banking on convenience and its huge customer base to drive the One company to success.

With so many millions of customers regularly passing through so many thousands of locations on a daily basis, Walmart has an inherent advantage over any competition in the banking market.

“Given the eyes that we have and the number of people that transact with us each week, the cost of customer acquisition is something that we already bring to the table,” Brett Biggs, former Walmart chief financial officer, said at an investor conference. Last spring. . “We should have lower customer acquisition costs than other companies like that.”

The banking plan would capitalize on Walmart’s bread and butter, the retail business, by offering 2 percent back on every dollar spent at the store, along with gas stations and pharmacies.

Walmart employees would also have access to their paychecks faster through a One account.

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