Walmart will create a fintech startup

 

To be able to offer a better service to its millions of customers, the retail giant Walmart has decided to venture into the fintech sector.

The firm has collaborated with Ribbit Capital, an investor in the stock-trading platform Robinhood. This partnership will leverage the giant’s retail knowledge and the latter’s fintech expertise. This will allow them to design tech-driven financial experiences that are personalised according to Walmart’s customers. While there were no specific details about the collaboration, it has been revealed that the retail company will own a majority of the shares.

With Amazon being a more robust competitor, it has become more important for Walmart to move beyond retail. It has been trying to expand its offerings and reinvent itself. For instance, it has launched its own low-cost health clinics and it is venturing into the insurance business.

Thus, it seems like Walmart is aiming to build a platform like Alibaba has in Asia, that is, it is trying to be both an online retailer and a financial services provider within a single platform. For quite a long time already, Walmart has been trying to make a name for itself in this sector, but its efforts were rebuffed by the world’s largest banks. It seems that things are now changing.


Walmart is venturing into the financial space © Royalty-free image


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