Blockchain

Walmart-Backed Fintech OnePay is Bringing Crypto to its Banking App

OnePay, the fintech firm majority-owned by Walmart will soon offer cryptocy trading and custody on its mobile app, CNBC has learned. OnePay will offer customers access to bitcoin and ether later this year with help from the startup Zerohash, according to people with knowledge of the matter who declined to be identified before an official announcement.

The move shows that OnePay, founded by Walmart and venture firm Ribbit Capital in 2021, sees crypto as a core offering as it builds out its “everything app” for digital finance. The fintech firm has methodically added new products in its quest to become an American super app akin to overseas offerings like WeChat.

The company now offers banking services including high-yield savings accounts; credit and debit cards; buy now, pay later loans and even wireless plans. By allowing OnePay users to hold bitcoin and ether in their mobile app, customers could presumably convert their crypto into cash and then use those funds to make store purchases or pay off card balances. Spokespeople for New York-based OnePay and Chicago-based Zerohash declined to comment.

Crypto continues to gain mainstream adoption after the U.S. government’s stance towards the nascent technology flipped with the election of President Donald Trump. Big banks that couldn’t previously develop crypto offerings are now starting to do so; last month Morgan Stanley said it would soon offer retail clients direct access to crypto through its E-Trade subsidiary.

The overall trend has boosted a constellation of public and private companies involved in crypto. Last month, Zerohash raised $104 million in funding from financial firms including Morgan Stanley and Interactive Brokers, part of its strategy to enmesh itself with banks and brokers that are building crypto products.

For OnePay, which benefits from its ties with the world’s largest retailer, there are signs that its mobile app is gaining traction, even before the crypto rollout. The fintech firm is now No. 5 on Apple’s app store ranking for free finance apps, ahead of larger companies including JPMorgan Chase, Robinhood, and Chime. Nearly all the apps ahead of OnePay in that list, including PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp also offer crypto.

From the time it was created, OnePay’s big advantage was in its distribution channel. The firm’s app is integrated into the in-person and online checkout process at Walmart’s U.S. locations, giving it access to the 150 million Americans who shop there every week. But OnePay was created as an entity separate from the retailer so it wouldn’t be limited to only Walmart customers, instead appealing to the broader population of Americans who are underserved by traditional banks.

Terron Gold