Walmart Partners with Interac for Online Payments

Need to Know

• Interac Debit for In-App and In-Browser Payments will be available from Walmart by spring 2021.
• Shoppers will be able to pay for online purchases directly from their bank accounts using proprietary digital wallets.
• Walmart is also rolling out Interac Flash in-store.
• Interac Debit for In-App and In-Browser payments have risen by 22% month-over-month since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March.

Analysis

Walmart is making it easier for customers to buy items online, with a new partnership with Interac that will allow shoppers to pay for their purchases directly from their debit accounts.

Interac Debit for In-App and In-Browser Payments, which allow shoppers to pay for online purchases directly from their bank accounts using proprietary digital wallets, will be available on Walmart’s mobile app and its website by spring 2021.

Nicolai Salcedo, Walmart’s CIO, said the Interac partnership is in response to a customer need for more flexible payment options online. “Walmart Canada is very excited to now offer Interac Debit and provide more convenient and contactless ways for customers to check out in-store and online,” he said in a statement. “We listen to our customers and want them to have even more choices for how they pay for their items. This is part of our ongoing effort to make shopping at Walmart easy, safe and seamless, especially during these challenging times.”

The use of Interac Debit for In-App and In-Browser Payments has increased substantially during the pandemic, as more consumers turn to online shopping due to safety concerns and store closures. According to a press release announcing the Interac-Walmart partnership, the use of Interact’s online payment tools has risen by 22% month-over-month since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic began in North America.

“Interac is proud to work with Walmart Canada, one of the country’s leading retailers, to help deliver seamless online payment experiences. The collaboration will give Walmart customers more debit payment options, allowing them to transact using their own money within the channel of their choice,” William Keliehor, chief commercial officer at Interac, said in a statement. “Given Walmart’s size, scope, and scale in the domestic retail market, this working relationship signals increased momentum for the continued expansion of Interac Debit for In-App and In-Browser Payments in Canada.”

The use of Interac’s overall suite of tools has risen during the pandemic, even outside of its consumer payment functions. Interac e-Transfer use has been 43% higher in 2020, compared to growth in 2019; the service hit its all-time historical daily high on May 1, 2020, when more than 3.75 million transactions took place across the network. According to a press release from Interac, the increase has come partly due to entirely new use cases, such as splitting online grocery bills and orders from big-box stores. Interac e-Transfers have also replaced physical paycheques: bulk Interac e-Transfer transactions increased 50% more than expected since the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions, in some cases due to the use of the payments tool to issue relief payments.

Interac has been at the forefront of digital payments innovation for some time, making it well-primed to face the pandemic. Late last year, the company emerged as a leading voice in the push for the adoption of Digital ID, with Neil Butters, AVP, Digital ID and Innovation for Interac saying at the time that “the foundational technology behind our payments network, combined with the trust we have established with Canadians over our 35-year history, positions us well in the future to enable digital ID across a range of devices and platforms.” The company also piloted two innovative blockchain projects earlier this year.

Walmart, too, has been making a strong push into the digital arena: in Canada, last week announcing the investment of $110 million in digital-focused upgrades to its physical stores.