a walmart-backed startup looking to compete with buy now, pay later companies.
The venture, called One, is set to launch its own version of the payments service as soon as next year, according to a source familiar with the matter.
One, which is majority owned by Walmart, wants to launch a service that shoppers can use on Walmart’s website and stores as well as at other retailers, the source said. The effort was partly driven by a more challenging economic backdrop and consumer distress from inflation.
Buy now, pay later shares of the firm Voice fell on Friday. Walmart declined to comment.
Entering a Growing Payment Services Category As monthly retail sales numbers continue to rise, but some Americans showed signs of stress from inflation pushing up the prices of food, housing and more. Those stretched wallets may spur consumers’ interest in paying for purchases in other ways. Buy Now, Pay Later allows customers to pay off purchases with interest gradually with fixed monthly payments.
Retail executives, including Walmart CEO Doug McMillan, There has even been talk of rich consumers feeling the pinch of inflation. Nearly 75% of the retailer’s market share in grocery came from households that earned more than $100,000 in the past two quarters.
McMillan said in a CNBC interview this week Customers are feeling the stress.
“We’ve got some customers who are more budget conscious who have been under inflationary pressure for months,” he told CNBC “Squawk Box.” “Continued pressure in some categories, I think, is something customers are having to deal with as Christmas approaches.”
This first reported the Walmart-backed startup’s interest in Buy Now, Pay Later by notification,
Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer and its largest grocer, has long offered financial services at many of its stores. It has a Money Center where customers can go for banking related services, such as printing cheques, sending or receiving money or loading prepaid debit cards. Many of those services are geared toward families that have low incomes, don’t have relationships with a traditional bank or don’t have the credit history to qualify for a credit card.
Last year Walmart went a step further Creating and backing a fintech startup with Ribbit Capital, One of the investment firms behind Robinhood. The fintech startup is independent, but Walmart has the largest stake. Its board also includes several top executives, including Walmart US CEO John Furner and Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey. Rainey, Walmart’s new CFO, recently joined the board and is the former CFO of PayPal.
since walmart Startup formed and backed by early 2021, it’s grown up. This Acquired two other fintech startups, another even, earlier this year for an undisclosed amount. It adopted the name One and aims to be an all-in-one app where consumers can manage their money.
One is led by Omar Ismail, who led goldman sachsConsumer Bank. It also includes some other Goldman veterans.
Buy now, pay later has become an increasingly crowded niche, with companies including Affirm, paypalKlarna and Afterpay all offer their own versions. Apple also announced plans to launch its own Buy Now, Pay Later option, Apple Pay Later.
Walmart already offers customers a buy now, pay later option through Affirm. Before last holiday season, it ended its layaway program and replaced it with buy now, pay later financing.