Walmart Offers New Financial Wellness Services for Associates Nationwide
Retailer joins financial technology startups Even and PayActiv to
launch industry-first tools for personal money management, financial
planning and on-demand access to earned wages
BENTONVILLE, Ark.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Walmart today announced a suite of new financial wellness services for
more than 1.4 million associates nationwide. The new offering was
created in collaboration with Silicon Valley-based financial technology
startups Even and PayActiv. Associates will access the tools through the
Even app, available for both iOS
and Android devices.
The joint solution allows Walmart associates to automatically plan ahead
for bills and savings goals, eliminating the work of figuring out how
much money is okay to spend. When unexpected expenses occur, associates
can access earned wages ahead of scheduled paychecks using an “Instapay”
feature, providing greater flexibility and helping them avoid
overdrafts, high-fee funding or credit options.
“Money management is something people across every income level struggle
with, in large part because they don’t have access to good tools,” said
Jon Schlossberg, CEO of Even. “In real life, if you want to get ahead,
you’ve got to make a financial plan, and also have a way to fix the plan
when it breaks. Even offers tools for both, together in one app. Working
with Walmart and PayActiv gives us the opportunity to put these
powerful, easy-to-use financial management tools in the hands of
millions of hardworking Americans.”
Walmart will cover the entire cost of Even’s automated financial
management tool for both hourly and salaried associates, and will ensure
associates can use Instapay up to eight times per year for free. Should
associates need to use Instapay more frequently, Walmart will subsidize
the additional Even subscription required to do so. The financial
management and Instapay features will be available to all Walmart, Sam’s
Club and Walmart eCommerce associates.
“Traditional approaches to workforce well-being often focus solely on physical health,
but we know from listening to our associates that financial well-being
is just as important,” said Jacqui Canney, Walmart’s chief people
officer. “We’re investing to give our people financial tools that help
provide more stability in their lives, which we believe will empower
them to be all they can be when they are at work serving our customers.”
The Even app securely connects to an associate’s checking account,
prepaid account or Walmart Associate Paycard, and links to Walmart’s
payroll systems. It automatically subtracts anticipated expenses from a
user’s anticipated cash inflows, allowing associates to see exactly how
much money they’re okay to spend.
“Every American worker faces unexpected and stressful between-paychecks
expenses,” said Safwan Shah, founder and CEO of PayActiv. “With
on-demand access to earned wages, Walmart associates will be able to
save more, avoid the financial traps that reduce their take-home pay,
and get a level of stability that few service sector employers provide.”
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save
money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online,
and through their mobile devices. The company’s legal name will become
Walmart Inc., effective on Feb. 1, 2018, to reflect its growing status
as an omni-channel retailer. Each week, over 260 million customers and
members visit our more than 11,600 stores under nearly 60 banners in 28
countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2017 revenue of
$485.9 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.3 million associates
worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate
philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about
Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com,
on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart
and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.
About Even
Even is the first financial health platform to combine automatic
financial planning with the ability to predict and safely solve cash
flow problems. Even’s proprietary neural network technology understands
and adapts to a user’s financial life, allowing the app to eliminate 90%
of the work required to use traditional budgeting tools. The company was
founded by former Instagram and Google engineers, and is headquartered
in Oakland, California. Additional information at www.even.com.
About PayActiv
PayActiv is an award-winning holistic financial wellness platform for
employees to get on-demand access to earned but unpaid wages. Businesses
that partner with PayActiv see significant cost reductions through
increased engagement and retention. Employees love PayActiv because it
eliminates the between-paycheck financing fees of payday loans, bank
overdrafts and title loans. PayActiv also offers a suite of services
that include better banking products, savings and budgeting tools, bill
payment and financial health measurement. PayActiv is backed by SoftBank
Capital and won best in class awards in both FinTech and HRTech
categories in 2016. Visit www.payactiv.com
to learn more.
Contacts
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Blake Jackson, 1-800-331-0085
news.walmart.com/reporter
