Walmart Announces New Venture With Digital Bank Accounts, a One-Stop Shop for Consumers' Financial Needs

Walmart Inc. is scheduled to launch its latest venture in late September. The retail giant will introduce its digital bank accounts meant for its 1.6 million employees and millions of shoppers in the US.

Walmart's Digital Banking

According to Bloomberg, Walmart will begin offering digital bank accounts to its employees and selected online customers as part of an initial beta test of the service.

The retail giant's venture into digital bank accounts is part of its fintech push. Walmart has partnered with One, a financial-technology startup, to oversee the project.

One wants digital bank accounts to be a one-stop shop for consumers' financial needs, hoping to offer several services such as loans and investing.

How the Digital Banking Accounts Will Work

One is being led by Omer Ismail, the former Goldman Sachs Group partner. He left his position in 2021 to become the chief executive officer of Ribbit Capital, the independent fintech startup Walmart formed.

Walmart formed Ribbit Capital to develop and offer modern and affordable financial solutions to the company's employees and customers. However, the company was vague about its intentions with the startup and did not take off immediately.

Now, Walmart's plans have begun to take shape. In January, Ribbit Capital acquired One Finance, a digital banking account, and Even Responsibilities Finance, which provides employees with early access to their salaries.

All the companies were combined and have since operated under the One name. The deals were completed in April, according to Financial Post.

One has since hired 100 additional employees, including Afterpay's Laura Nadler as a chief financial officer and Apple's Raffi Vartkessian as head of customer operations.

Walmart owns one, but it is an entirely independent company. So far, One's employees are working in Manhattan, but there are also staffers based in Sacramento and San Francisco, California offices.

Walmart's Financial Services

This is not the first time Walmart has expressed its interest in financial services. The retail giant's MoneyCenter locations now allow customers to cash checks, access tax-preparation services, and even send money overseas through MoneyGram International and Euronet Worldwide.

Walmart also offers credit and prepaid debit cards through Capital One Financial Corp., Synchrony Financial, and Green Dot Corp.

The retail giant has always revealed its goals of expanding its financial services.

In 2005, Walmart applied to be an industrial bank in Utah. But the retail giant was not seeking to open bank branches; it only wanted to use the charter to process credit and debit card transactions internally.

The move would have saved the company millions of dollars every year. However, in 2007, Walmart withdrew its application, according to The New York Times.

For its new venture with One, Walmart has opted for a different path. One has long relied on a partnership with Coastal Community Bank to issue debit cards and provide other banking services to its consumers.

The company still wants to partner with Coastal Community for those activities and tap into other services.

Walmart did not reveal the exact date of its venture launch, as all it has said is that it will be in late September.

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Written by Sophie Webster