Walmart expands flexible payment option to self-checkout

Walmart shoppers can now take advantage of a growing payment option at the self-checkout. 

The retail giant is is extending its partnership with buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform Affirm to self-checkout kiosks at more than 4,500 Walmart stores across the U.S.  The discounter has been offering a flexible BNPL payment option with Affirm since February 2019, when it began allowing customers to use Affirm to make installment payments on purchases at more than 4,000 Walmart Supercenter stores nationwide.

Walmart also integrated Affirm as a payment option on the Walmart.com e-commerce site, and makes the service available in Walmart Vision Centers.

Since then, Walmart has replaced its layaway program with installment payments from Affirm. Eligible Walmart customers can use Affirm to pay over time in monthly payments for purchases ranging from $144 to $4,000. 

Other collaborative offerings from Walmart and Affirm have included a summer 2022 promotion that allowed eligible consumers who spent $300 or more on a single purchase with Affirm at Walmart, either in-store or online, to receive a free 90-day membership in the Walmart+ paid membership program.

BNPL appears to be growing in popularity with consumers. Findings from the recent inaugural J.D. Power U.S. Consumer POS Payment Program indicate that a slight majority (55%) of consumers say they have been using newer forms of digital payment methods, such as digital wallets, BNPL, merchant apps and even cryptocurrency; with 28% of those using BNPL, placing it only behind digital wallets in popularity.

“Recent Affirm research revealed that more than half of Americans (54%) are looking for retailers to offer a buy now, pay later option at checkout. Moreover, we’ve found that 76% of consumers would either delay or not make a purchase without Affirm,” said Pat Suh, Affirm’s SVP of Revenue. “Expanding our partnership with Walmart and bringing Affirm’s transparent monthly pay-over-time options to their self-checkout kiosks in the U.S. will help even more consumers increase their purchasing power during the holiday shopping season and beyond.”

Based in Bentonville, Ark., Walmart Inc. operates more than 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries.