Friday, April 27, 2012

Walmart is First Major Retailer to Allow Customers to Pay Cash for Online Purchases


PRESS RELEASE
April 26, 2012, 6:00 a.m. EDT

Walmart Announces "Pay with Cash" for Online Purchases

First major retailer to allow customers to pay cash for items online at Walmart.com without a credit, debit or prepaid card.

SAN BRUNO, Calif., April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Walmart WMT +0.03% today announced the launch of its "Pay with Cash" offering for online orders at Walmart.com in the United States. Now, customers can shop a broader selection of items online -- hundreds of thousands more items beyond its stores -- at Walmart.com and pay for them with cash at all Walmart stores in the U.S. and also in Neighborhood Markets. Walmart is the first major retailer to offer online purchases without the need for banking services or a credit, debit or prepaid card. "Pay with Cash" will help millions who rely on cash transactions, as well as those who are wary of using credit cards online, to shop Walmart's affordable and expanded online merchandise.
According to the FDIC, one in four U.S. households fall into the unbanked and underbanked categories where they don't have a bank account or credit card or have limited banking options, and often rely on cash as a form of payment for purchases.(1) However, many of them are online, with 81 percent of the unbanked and 63 percent of the underbanked having Internet access.(2)
At Walmart stores, the majority of transactions are paid for in cash or cash equivalent, including debit cards, and approximately 15 percent of transactions are paid in the form of credit. The retailer is seeing more demand for cash as a payment option online, and the new "Pay with Cash" program provides that additional convenience. In a recent survey, Walmart found that more than two thirds of those identified as "underbanked" were likely to use cash as a form of online payment if the option were available. Using "Pay with Cash," customers purchase items at Walmart.com, pay for them in stores within a 48-hour period, and then have the items shipped to their home or local Walmart store.
"Many of our customers shop paycheck to paycheck and are looking for more ways to purchase items online but don't have the means to a credit, debit or prepaid card," said Joel Anderson, president and CEO of Walmart.com. "Our new 'Pay with Cash' offering is designed just for them. It makes it easier for our customers to shop the way they want, where they have access to a broader product selection at Walmart.com coupled with the convenience of payment and shipping as they want."
Pay with Cash: How it Works
Customers go to Walmart.com from any Internet-connected device to select an item and place an order.
During checkout, the customer selects the "Cash" option and their shipping preference. Customer immediately receives an order number on the order confirmation page and an email receipt with their order number. The item is reserved in the system.
The customer has 48-hours to take the printed order form to any cash register of any Walmart store or Neighborhood Market.
Once cash payment is completed in the store and received, shipping then occurs via Site to Store or to their preferred address.
Hundreds of thousands of items at Walmart.com are now available for "Pay with Cash" which includes categories such as baby, health and beauty, toys, home decor, electronics, household appliances, and more, and can also be shipped to a customer's preferred address or their local Walmart store using the Site to Store option. "Pay with Cash" is honored in all U.S. Walmart stores and also in Neighborhood Markets. More information is available online at www.walmart.com/paywithcash .
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. WMT +0.03% serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at over 10,000 retail units under 69 different banners in 27 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of approximately $444 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://walmartstores.com , and on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart . Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com .
(1) Source: FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households" FDIC (2009)(2) Source: "Engaging the Underbanked and Unbanked in the U.S." Javelin Strategy and Research (2011)
SOURCE Walmart
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