Doubt the Power of Cash? Look What Walmart’s Doing

Walmart has launched a new “Pay with Cash” option for its Walmart.com customers. Online shoppers can now pay for their purchases with cash at any physical Walmart location.

At checkout, web shoppers who choose “cash” as the payment option will receive an order number and an email receipt. Customers then have 48 hours to present that order number at the cash register of any physical Walmart store to complete payment, at which point the shipping process is initiated.

Walmart says its decision to offer a new payment option is motivated by FDIC statistics on the underbanked. The FDIC estimates that 25 percent of U.S. consumers have limited banking options, and therefore prefer cash to make purchases. The release also revealed that just 15 percent of Walmart transactions are completed with credit cards.

A full release announcing the new feature is available at Walmart.com.