Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
The big payments provider J.P. Morgan Payments expanded its reach into different sectors this week through deals with leading retailer Walmart Inc.’s Walmart Marketplace and buy now, pay later specialist Affirm Inc.
At the Shoptalk conference in Las Vegas, the payments unit of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., the biggest U.S. banking company, on Tuesday unveiled its so-called embedded finance solution for sellers on the Walmart Marketplace e-commerce platform. The service enables Walmart Marketplace to sign new business users, implement payment accounts, receive payouts, and manage cash flows and transfer funds. The system works with clients’ existing technology platforms, according to J.P. Morgan.
“Clients that integrate our embedded finance solution into their platforms benefit from the convenience of a single provider to accept, manage, and send funds,” Lia Cao, head of embedded finance and solutions at J.P. Morgan Payments, said in a statement.
The fast-growing Walmart Marketplace competes with the likes of Amazon.com Inc., Target Corp.’s Target Plus, eBay Inc., and Etsy in the e-commerce platform space. Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart says its U.S. Walmart Marketplace revenue grew 45% in fiscal 2024.
The Walmart deal comes just over two months after J.P. Morgan announced it would roll out a proprietary line of point-of-sale terminals later this year.
Meanwhile, San Francisco-based Affirm announced Tuesday its pay-over-time offerings will be available to U.S. merchants using J.P. Morgan Payments’ commerce platform. Buyers with cart sizes of $35 to $30,000 at checkout will be able to choose repayment plans with lengths of 30 days to 60 months.
“Integrations like this significantly expand the reach of Affirm, giving more businesses the tools to thrive in today’s retail landscape while delivering maximum flexibility and transparency to more consumers,” Wayne Pommen, Affirm’s chief revenue officer, said in a statement.
Affirm also said it is joining the J.P. Morgan Payments Partner Network, giving it access to J.P. Morgan’s suite of payment services and third-party relationships for enhancing payments strategies.
The developments come as Affirm seeks to cement its position in the hot BNPL market against such rivals as Sweden-based Klarna AB, which is planning a U.S. initial public offering. Last week, news broke that Walmart would replace Affirm with Klarna and digital-wallet provider OnePay as the exclusive provider of installment loans to Walmart’s U.S. customers. Walmart and Ribbit Capital, which specializes in investing in fintechs, own OnePay.
