World’s Largest Retailer Walmart Pushing Customers Towards Eliminating Use of Cash in Their Stores

by Kenneth Schortgen, The Daily Economist:

As governments around the world mull over, or actually start to implement the elimination of physical cash, the world’s largest retailer Walmart is now jumping onto this bandwagon.

In a new initiative announced on Feb. 28, the retail giant updated their mobile app with a new feature meant to entice customers to perform their pharmaceutical and money changing activities online, with the carrot incentive of no longer having to wait in line to fill out their documentation or to pay for these services.

Walmart yesterday launched a new initiative in its drive towards zero-cash at its stores.
The world’s largest retailer has added a new feature to its mobile app, which would allow its pharmacy and money services customers to beat long queues, The Street reported.

Whether it was about refilling a prescription or wiring money, all tasks could be done without paperwork and checking prescriptions before stepping into the store, the report said.

Walmart said while customers would still need to visit the store to pick up prescriptions and verify payments made through money services, express lanes would be set up to cut waiting times to as little as 40 seconds as against six to 11 minutes at present.
The app and express lanes would be introduced at 1,200 locations in March, and extended to 4,700 US stores by the fall. – Domain B

In 2016 Walmart introduced an app called Walmart Pay in which customers would no longer need to use physical cash, or even receive a physical receipt when checking out as they would pay and document their purchases completely on their smartphones.

While cashless retail shopping is not widespread in the U.S. at this time, a growing number of countries in Europe are nearly 100% cashless, with many of their own retailers no longer even accepting physical cash as payment for items or services.

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