Walmart's Digital Wallet Exec On The Retailer's Fintech Advancements

Digital wallets and emerging payments technology were at the forefront of conversations at the 2018 Benzinga Fintech Summit in San Francisco.

Karla Allen, head of digital wallets at Walmart Inc. WMT, provided insight on the industry and its future in retail.

Walmart Pay

Walmart Pay is a QR code-based connection to the point-of-sale technology in which customers are able to easily purchase items with an app. 

“The product has been really growing and consumers like it," Allen said. "Over 20 million customers per month use the Walmart app overall, and we’ve seen hundreds of thousands of sign up for the Walmart Pay feature each month. We’re seeing a lot of growth there and there’s a ton of innovation." 

PayPal

Last month, the retail giant announced a partnership with payments innovator PayPal Holdings Inc. PYPL.

With this deal, PayPal users will have the opportunity to withdraw and deposit money at any Walmart location.

“We have over 5,000 stores in the U.S. and 90 percent of that population lives within 10 miles of one of our stores. This is the first time that PayPal has had a physical footprint for giving cash back from an account. We want to do more with partners to help support our customers in the way they pay," Allen said. 

Scan And Go

Walmart has built a similar technology to the cashierless checkouts at Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN's Amazon Go stores.

“We’re trying to lead in customers getting in and out of the store quickly and not having to stand in line, especially during rush times like lunch time and holidays,” Allen said. “This is just a new way to remove some friction, and what we find is that people are shopping with us more often because they can get out more quickly and they really love it. About 80 percent of customers use it again within 90 days.”

Walmart has to leverage the community for fintech advancements and startups for ideas, Allen told the Benzinga Fintech Summit. 

"We feel like there’s a gap in the products and services that are being built for middle America.”

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Photo by MikeMozartJeepersMedia/Wikimedia.