The fintech is One, in which Walmart holds a majority stake.

One, a fintech majority-owned by Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is likely to enter the highly competitive Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) market amidst rising price pressures on shoppers and a challenging economic environment. One’s BNPL product is one that shoppers could use at both Walmart and other retailers. (CNBC)

As consumers feel the pinch of higher mortgage prices, more expensive gas, and dearer food and groceries, they are likely to seek payment options that would help stretch out their budget by paying in instalments.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told CNBC’s “Squawk Box”: “We’ve got some customers who are more budget-conscious that have been under inflation pressure now for months. That sustained pressure in some categories, I think, is something customers are having to deal with as we approach Christmas.”

However, BNPL is already crowded with many players in the field, including Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM), PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), Klarna and AfterPay (ASX: APT). Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is soon to launch its own BNPL product dubbed Apple Pay Later. Walmart’s current BNPL product is offered via Affirm.

Walmart’s One fintech also has Ribbit Capital as a shareholder and is manned by top Walmart execs. It is led by Omer Ismail, who previously headed Goldman Sachs’ (NYSE: GS) consumer banking arm.

Last month, Black Friday broke $9 billion in sales for the first time, with online sales of $9.12 billion. Figures showed that the use of BNPL was ticking higher. In-store BNPL use was up 41% year over year among Black Friday shoppers in 2022, while the percentage of online shoppers that used BNPL and crypto hit new highs and reached 10% and 5.1% respectively.

Related Story:  New Zealand Mulls Protection Against BNPL Debt Traps

Photo by Marques Thomas on Unsplash