Walmart: FinTech Ambition, Poaches Goldman Bankers

Walmart is enlisting the help of two Goldman Sachs executives to help launch a new FinTech startup as the retail giant enters the banking industry, reports Bloomberg.

The executives are Omer Ismail and David Stark, the report says.

Ismail is the head of Goldman’s commercial bank and is making a “surprise exit” for FinTech.

And Stark, according to the statement, is one of Ismail’s top lieutenants at Goldman and will join him.

In response, Goldman said it had “a huge boost and a deep and growing talent pool”, wishing the two former employees the best. But the withdrawals are a setback for the bank, writes Bloomberg, who has just entrusted the two men with bigger roles. At the company, Ismail had formally taken control of the consumer bank earlier in the year and had just helped put it into practice. Marcus strategy – the bank’s biggest project in 30 years.

Meanwhile, Stark had just participated in Goldman’s work with Apple on credit cards and had been appointed head of major company partnerships weeks ago.

Walmart’s tactic of getting Goldman Sachs team members out shows its commitment to enter the banking world, Bloomberg writes, demonstrating that the retail giant intends to get involved in its customers’ financial activities. The company is working with Ribbit, an investment firm, on the project, according to Bloomberg.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said recently that the company was working to become what PYMNTS called a “super app”. McMillon said his goal was to make Walmart the “primary destination” for its customers, becoming an ecosystem that encompasses both physical and digital needs, as a way to combat the invasion of Amazon’s range of services in recent years.

Walmart is expanding through partnerships with Shopify for a third-party market, along with its commitment to health with Walmart health centers. It is also working with e-commerce, logistics, supply chain, inventory, services Buy now, pay later and other programs.