Walmart is pouring more firepower into its fledgling financial venture, scoring a $2.5 billion valuation for the startup and signaling its ambition to wade deeper into financial services.
The world's largest retailer is leading a funding round of more than $300 million alongside investment firm Ribbit Capital, according to people with knowledge of the matter. That marks a fresh valuation for the firm called One, which is majority-owned by the retail giant and has been offering products targeting Walmart's legions of customers and employees to gain a bigger foothold in financial services.
For the financial industry, the specter of companies like Walmart encroaching on their turf has loomed large. Just last year, JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief Jamie Dimon identified the competitive threat of businesses like Walmart, labeling their hundreds of millions of customers and the enormous resources at their disposal an "extraordinary competitive advantage."
Walmart's latest endeavor marks a more deliberate push to expand into financial services after years of fitful efforts with a disparate set of offerings. This time, it's established One as an independent company that sits outside Walmart, while the retailer still maintains control. And in partnering with Ribbit, Walmart picked an investor that counts fintech darlings like Coinbase Global, Revolut and Robinhood Markets among its successful investments.
Representatives for Walmart and Ribbit didn't comment. The fundraising is still being finalized and hasn't closed, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn't public. The $2.5 billion represents the valuation before the new money is raised.
The startup has hit the mark within two years of fully rolling out products in Walmart's stores. It underscores why banking stalwarts have been keeping a wary eye on the retailer's push into their turf: The ability to hook a vast customer base on to products beyond its core offerings. Still, at this moment, One lags behind the likes of Revolut, Chime and Robinhood that have operated for longer.
Revenue and users
One, formed from the merger of two smaller companies, now boasts a run-rate revenue of more than $200 million based off its November results and is processing over $15 billion in payment flow. Its products include installment loans, debit cards and payments services, as well as offering early wage access to Walmart's more than 1.6 million employees in the U.S.
The company counts more than 3 million monthly active users, and when Walmart reissues its credit card with a new banking partner next year, it will be launched by One, the people said. That would open up access to millions of customers who used that product.
At One, the work is being led by Omer Ismail, a former Goldman Sachs Group partner who left his post as head of the firm's consumer bank in early 2021 to become chief executive officer of the startup. That was before Goldman largely abandoned its consumer push.
Walmart's move at the time — poaching from one of Wall Street's elite firms diving headlong into online banking — underscored the seriousness of the retailer's intent to weave itself into the financial lives of its customers. That followed years of warnings by bank leaders that their industry faces tough new challengers, after regulators smoothed the way for corporate giants and Silicon Valley to expand into payments and other services.
It all comes on the heels of one of Walmart's strongest years in the stock market, with its more than 80% share-price climb putting it on track for its best year since 1998. Sales have jumped as consumers prioritize essentials like groceries that make up roughly 60% of its business, with gains across all income cohorts, especially wealthier shoppers.
Walmart has highlighted the opportunity that exists in credit and acknowledged that past financial offerings didn't meet expectations.
"You were pointing out some areas where maybe we punch below our weight," Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told an analyst earlier this year. "I think financial services is one of those within the U.S. and so I'm looking forward to sharing more about that progress in the coming years."
