The retail giant will pay $10 million to settle the charges by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the regulator announced Friday (June 20).
The commission had brought the case against Walmart in 2022, accusing the company of “turning a blind eye” as scammers stole hundreds of millions of dollars from consumers.
“Electronic money transfers are one of the most common ways that scammers tell consumers to send them money, because once it’s sent, it’s gone for good,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a news release.
“Companies that provide these services must train their employees to comply with the law and work to protect consumers.”
The FTC had alleged that Walmart had allowed its money transfer services to be used by scammers, and also failed to set up effective anti-fraud policies and procedures or train its employees, and failed to warn customers about the threat of money transfer-related fraud.
In addition to the settlement, Walmart is also barred from “providing money transfer services without taking timely and appropriate action to effectively detect and prevent fraud-induced money transfers,” the FTC said.
Walmart also agreed not to process transfers it thinks could be fraudulent, or help sellers and telemarketers it suspects are using its services to carry out fraud.
The company did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement, per an announcement on the company’s website.
Walmart had called the FTC’s case an example of regulatory overreach, saying it was unfair for the agency to hold the company responsible for the “criminal actions of completely unrelated third-party fraudsters.”
In other Walmart-related news, PYMNTS wrote last week about the company’s effort to compete with Amazon as both retailers are “reimagining the front end of the consumer journey.” Amazon, for example, recently decided to turn Prime Day into a four-day event, which that report said underlines the evolving nature of online sales.
Walmart, meanwhile, is focusing on closing the gap between content consumption and shopping intent. Using its acquisition of Vizio and a pilot program for shoppable ads on smart TVs, the company is testing the notion of turning passive viewers into active shoppers.
“Imagine watching a cooking show and ordering ingredients directly from your remote. This vision of ‘living room commerce’ could redefine impulse buying and unlock new revenue streams in retail media,” the report added.
