Walmart de México y Centroamérica has become more than a supermarket. The retailer entered the financial services business through Cashi, its mobile payment application that, at the end of last year, had seven million users, according to company figures.
In its 2021 annual report, Walmart detailed that Cashi – along with Bait, which is its mobile phone and internet service – is one of the business arms with which it seeks to give its customers access to the digital economy.
“Our strong core business is fueling the ecosystem, and at the same time, the new businesses we are creating drive customer loyalty and strengthen the core business so that it in turn grows and becomes more resilient,” the report reads. the company directed by Guilherme Loureiro.
Julián Fernández, head of financial analysis at Bursamérica, comments that the trend in business is integration –from the payment method, logistics and distribution channels–, to offer greater discounts or promotions to customers by having this channel of direct and personalized communication.
“Companies pay a commission to a third party that provides digital payments and with this Walmart avoids this cost by developing its own payment method,” he says. “In addition, it steps forward to have a vote for consumers to approach digital purchases,” he adds.
What is Cashi and how does it work?
Walmart introduced Cashi in 2018, the year the company turned around and kicked off its omnichannel strategy. The intention of the firm was that its clients had a payment platform other than cash and that it did not require the use of a credit card. The mobile app can be used on Android and Apple devices and can also be used to pay at Walmart ecommerce.
“Stores that have financial solutions, such as credit in e-commerce kiosks, grew twice as much compared to those that do not have this service,” Cristian Barrientos, Walmart’s director of operations, told a conference. “By providing internet and financial solutions, we make it easier for customers to access the benefits of the digital economy,” he added.
Cashi works as an electronic wallet and to top up the balance one option is to go to the stores of the different Walmart formats: Supercenter, Bodega Aurrera, Walmart Express and Sam’s Club and do it at any of the checkouts. It can also be recharged on the cell phone, where the ″With debit or credit card″ mode is activated and the amount is selected. The card data must be previously registered.
To pay with Cashi in Walmart physical stores, you must tell the cashier that this will be the means of payment. He will display a QR code that needs to be scanned into the app using the phone’s camera. The total amount of the purchase will be subtracted from the balance in the electronic wallet.
Benefits of using Cashi
Cashi is a digital payment method that replaces the use of cash and credit or debit cards. The Walmart application also has a function that allows you to view the movements of the payments made from the app.
Among the benefits of using the application is that 2% of the total purchases are reimbursed in all the stores of the self-service chain, that is, for every 1,000 pesos of purchase, 20 are discounted.
In the Cashi application it is also possible to pay for 67 services, among which the payment of electricity to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), cell phone prepayments from different companies, including Bait, which belongs to Walmart.
It is also possible to pay for fixed telephony and internet services from companies such as Telmex and Dish, and cable television services, such as Sky, Total Play, Izzi, Megacable, Dish and Blue Telecomm. In addition to allowing payments for digital services such as Netflix, Spotify, Uber, PlayStation and Xbox.
Disadvantages of Cashi, the Walmart app
Walmart’s e-wallet also has some drawbacks. The first is that it can only be used to pay at chain stores. In addition, it is only possible to pay with the application in the company’s online store in the ‘Online only’ section.
The app also does not allow you to cancel the recharges that are made to the application once the movement has been made. For now, as it is not a banking institution, the application does not allow money to be transferred to other accounts or users.
How to get my money from Cashi?
For now it is not possible to withdraw the Cashi balance. The balance can only be used through the application for purchases in the chain’s stores or for the payment of services.
