Walmart

The retail giant is betting on the mainstream appeal of digital assets, while Lloyds' cash-preservation strategy gains steam. That and more in American Banker's global payments and fintech roundup.

The wireless service plans join a variety of banking and payment products offered by OnePay, a fintech company backed by the big-box retailer Walmart.

The big box retailer is trying to increase share among its business clients by adding financing options for businesses that are navigating economic volatility.

As banks consider their strategies, other big names are also considering a role for digital assets.

The retail giants are kicking the tires on their own currencies. The potential prize is a way to reimagine prepaid cards and gain a key position as new forms of artificial intelligence-powered payments take off.

Synchrony issued the Walmart credit card for nearly two decades until 2018, when it lost the partnership to Capital One Financial. The latest deal does not include the balances tied to Walmart's existing credit card program.

As Klarna wins installment lending for the retail giant's OnePay app, rival Affirm seeks to downplay the loss.

The payment company's listing comes amid market and political volatility, but the Swedish firm has its strong recent financial performance and distribution deals with JPMorgan Chase and Walmart on its side.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Walmart and payment app Branch Messenger, accusing them of illegally opening 1 million deposit accounts and charging $10 million in fees. Branch said the agency refused to engage in any meaningful way about the matter.

Walmart is pouring more firepower into its fledgling financial venture, signaling its ambition to wade deeper into financial services.

Card networks, fintechs and Walmart have started major account-to-account payment initiatives in the past few weeks.

By enabling instant settlement for bank payments at checkout, the retailer is adding speed to an option that reduces card transaction fees. But getting consumer buy-in may be a challenge.

The Swedish financial institution reports generative artificial intelligence will enable the company to lower headcount, while a digital payment rail is improving the financial performance at Walmart's PhonePe unit.

The retail giants are testing the limits of what customers will allow a generative AI system to do before making a payment.

January was a quiet month for traditional bank mergers and acquisitions, but some big-name firms still struck big deals. Here's a look back at the month's most noteworthy deals.

Acquiring the earned-wage-access firm and challenger bank would further efforts by the retailer and its partners to develop a "super app" featuring mobile financial tools.

Walmart has hired a veteran of American Express to run Walmart+, the membership program it unveiled less than a year ago to counter Amazon.com’s Prime plan.

Changing the retailer's prepaid card into a demand deposit account gives customers access to more digital banking tools.

The move furthers the retail giant's strategy to become a one-stop shop for payments and financial services.

Now that Western Union has begun its deployment at the big-box retailer, where MoneyGram has long had a presence, the incumbent is watching for signs of pricing pressure.