Black Friday shoppers walk out of a Walmart with a cart full on November 26, 2021 in Westminster, Colorado.
Michael Ciaglo | beautiful pictures
A fintech startup Walmart created and supported said on Wednesday that it is buying two more companies with the goal of building an all-in-one app where consumers can manage their money.
The combined company will be called ONE, the name of one of the companies the fintech startup is acquiring. It is also acquiring another fintech company, Even. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Walmart – the country’s largest private employer and largest grocer – announced an effort last year to develop unique, affordable financial products it can offer to customers. millions of its customers and employees. It says it has partnered with Ribbit Capital, one of the investment firms behind Robinhood, to launch an independent fintech startup.
Venture hired two Goldman Sachs bankers to help accelerate the effort, including Omer Ismail, Goldman’s head of consumer banking. Ismail will lead ONE, according to Wednesday’s news release.
Walmart has a majority stake in the startup, which until now has been called Hazel, and its board includes several top executives, including Walmart CFO Brett Biggs and Walmart US CEO John Furner.
The startup plans to capitalize on Walmart’s huge reach: 1.6 million US employees and over 100 million weekly shoppers. It also points to an untapped customer base that includes millions of Americans who don’t have a bank account, can’t access credit and struggle to accumulate savings – including many who have shopped at Walmart stores.
The acquisition will help the startup build an app that is a single place for consumers to spend, save, and borrow. There is even an app where employers can provide their workforce to help budget and set aside emergency savings. It counts Walmart, PayPal, Humana and Mattress Company among its clients.
ONE, another company the Walmart-backed startup is acquiring, offers debit cards, checking and savings accounts, and an app that helps people track their money and budgets.
When the two acquisitions close, the combined business will have more than 200 employees and more than $250 million in cash on its balance sheet to drive growth, Walmart and Ribbit Capital said. The startup said it expects the deals to close in the first half of 2022.
Acquisitions are first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
