- Walmart has reportedly stripped two Goldman Sachs bankers to help run the new fintech business.
- The retailer announced a partnership with Ribbit Capital in January to offer financial products.
- Walmart’s latest move is a commitment to create a path in the financial world.
- Visit the Insider Business Department for more stories.
Since Walmart wants to start a fintech business, the retailer turns to Wall Street veterans to help move the banking world.
Walmart Inc. picked up two senior bankers from Goldman Sachs to help the retailer’s new fintech startup arm, Bloomberg reported Sunday. Omer Ismail, head of Goldman’s consumer bank, and David Stark, one of his top lieutenants, will leave the bank to bolster Walmart’s financial services business with investment firm Ribbit Capital, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg said. The departure of Ismail, who runs Marcus, was a ‘surprise’, sources told Bloomberg.
Walmart announced earlier this year that it is partnering with Ribbit Capital, the firm that supports fintech companies such as Robinhood, Affirm and Credit Karma, to offer financial products to customers and employees. The startup, which has yet to be made public, will mostly be owned by Walmart and will include several Walmart executives on its board.
Customers have “made it clear that they want more of us in the financial services industry,” John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart US, said in an earlier statement. Walmart’s current financial services offering include the Walmart CapitalOne credit card, the prepaid Walmart MoneyCard and the ability for people to cash checks in stores.
“Walmart’s newly announced fintech joint venture with Ribbit Capital offers numerous growth opportunities, leveraging its massive customer base at the center of the initiative,” Moody’s vice president and senior credit officer Charlie O’Shea said in a note. . to investors, Insider reported earlier. “Walmart has been slowly and tactically expanding its financial services offerings to its customers, and a measured expansion of these capabilities makes sense because it will deepen these important customer relationships.”
Walmart’s latest move is a commitment to create a path in the financial world. The retailer could also potentially benefit from eventually using his thousands of stores to market his new product and display ads to a wide variety of customers.
In February, Walmart reported $ 152.1 billion in total sales, an increase of more than 7.3% year-on-year.
Walmart and Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.