Walmart’s OnePay Is Wading Into Crypto as Retailer Expands in Finance

Walmart has steadily been investing in streams of revenue outside its main grocery business. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Key Points

• OnePay, a Walmart-backed fintech, will soon enable users to trade and hold Bitcoin and Ethereum on its app.
• The company aims to become a comprehensive online banking platform, expanding its offerings beyond traditional services.
• Walmart is investing in financial services, including OnePay and a majority stake in Indian fintech PhonePe, for revenue growth.

The Walmart-backed fintech OnePay will soon allow users to trade and hold cryptocurrencies on its app, marking the company’s latest bid to become a one-stop shop for online banking.

OnePay is launching a crypto offering later this year, giving users the ability to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin and Ethereum. Crypto infrastructure company Zerohash will help enable the transactions.

CNBC reported the news earlier Friday.

OnePay launched in 2021 with financial backing from Walmart and venture firm Ribbit Capital with the aim of offering digital financial services within the Walmart ecosystem and beyond. It was meant to have a particular focus on demographic groups with less access to traditional banking.

Walmart has been steadily investing in alternative, high-margin streams of revenue outside of its main grocery business, including advertising, membership programs, and a third-party marketplace. Financial services is another area of growth. In addition to OnePay, the company has a majority stake in Indian fintech PhonePe, which is preparing for a public listing in India.

Since launching, OnePay has rapidly expanded its offerings, including adding a buy now, pay later service, a store-branded credit card, and a tool to help users build credit. Although the app isn’t limited to Walmart customers, its digital wallet is also integrated into Walmart’s checkout system, making the checkout process easier, as well as offering Walmart-specific rewards.

Crypto is a new frontier for OnePay, and one that could prove an important draw to consumers given the surge in cryptocurrency adoption over the recent years. Under the Trump administration, Bitcoin prices have reached new highs, partly because of crypto-friendly shifts in regulation. President Donald Trump himself has invested in a crypto business, launching a digital token that trades under his name.

Many fintech apps, including PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App, already give users the option to buy, sell, and hold crypto.

Write to Sabrina Escobar at sabrina.escobar@barrons.com