Attention Walmart shoppers—please proceed to checkout to get cash from your PayPal account. Extending an existing arrangement, the two companies are enabling PayPal customers to make cash deposits and withdrawals, as the following TechCrunch story reports.
Walmart and PayPal this morning announced a partnership that will see the two collaborating on financial services and products, including new PayPal cash in and cash out services at Walmart stores, as well as the ability for PayPal Cash MasterCard customers to access their cash balance in-store at service desks, ATMs and cash registers.
The PayPal cash in and cash out money services will cost customers a $3 service fee, the companies say, as will the ability to pull cash out from MasterCard while in store. The companies declined to say how that fee is being shared.
Customers are also able to load cash into their PayPal balance while at Walmart, but this is not a new service as of today, we’re told.
The deal marks the first time that PayPal mobile app users will be able to take cash out from their PayPal balance while in a brick-and-mortar environment, though PayPal several years ago had partnered with retailers like Home Depot for integrations at the register.
A key part of this announcement is its timing. Will consumers be more apt to need cash for holiday season spending? This appears to be part of the thinking of PayPal and Walmart. However, it seems that the $3 fee per transaction will discourage someone looking to take out a small dollar account. Also, shoppers with bank debit card accounts can typically get fee-free cash back when paying with a card at checkout. Most holiday gift-buyers are mainly paying with plastic so it will be interesting to see how popular this new cash feature will be.
Overview by Raymond Pucci, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group
