Walmart is pursuing its own buy now, pay later loans, report says – one year after shoppers accused the retailer of 'killing Christmas' by canceling layaway

• Fintech-backed venture One is going to offer buy now, pay later loans to Walmart customers as soon as next year, according to The Information
• The move comes as buy now, pay later loans have become increasingly popular with younger crowds.
• Walmart currently offers BNPL loans through a partnership with Affirm.

Walmart is about to take another major splash into the financial-services world through its fintech-backed venture, One. It will offer its own buy now, pay later loans to Walmart customers as soon as next year, according to The Information, which spoke with three people familiar with the matter.

This follows One’s earlier move to offer banking accounts to Walmart employees. A One spokesman declined to comment when reached by Insider.

The latest development comes as other major retailers, like Apple, are planning to roll out their own buy now, pay later services. BNPL loans have become increasingly popular with Gen Z and younger consumers. These loans typically have low or no fees and offer quick credit approval, and bills can be paid off in four, no-interest installments.

It also comes roughly a year after Walmart customers revolted against the retail giant for abandoning its popular layaway program — where customers paid for gifts over time without incurring extra fees after paying a small deposit to hold an item — before the 2021 holiday season. Instead, Walmart said at the time customers should use its buy-now-pay-later service, which it offers through a partnership with Affirm that dates back to 2019. 

With Affirm, there are no hidden or late fees, but some customers can end up paying 10% interest or more on their purchases over the course of a year, depending on their credit rating, according to Walmart. Others may not be eligible because of a lack of approved credit, or simply because their bank isn’t connected to Affirm. 

“Congrats on killing Christmas for SO MANY families who were DEPENDING on Layaway for Christmas & who do not qualify for Affirm,” one Twitter user wrote in response to the move in October 2021. 

Walmart may soon reap the benefits of rolling out this new service through its fintech-backed venture. Retailers are already seeing an increase in shoppers turning to buy now, pay later: BNPL orders jumped 85% during Cyber Week, or the period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, compared with the week prior, according to data from Adobe.

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