Wal-Mart Stores To Offer A New Money Transfer Option

Facing tough sales comparisons and other operating headwinds, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is seeking a new source of revenue by expanding its fee-based services with a new money transfer option expected to rival Money Gram.

The retail giant said it has teamed up with Leawood, Kan.-based Euronet to offer a money transfer service to its cache of financial services. Wal-Mart now offers a similar service with Money Gram which is worth an estimated $398 million, based on last year’s business tween the two companies.

Money Gram, which clears through the Bank of New York, noted that Wal-Mart Stores was its largest partner in 2013 representing 27% of its total money transfer revenue.

Euronet raked in $370 million of its own last year in money transfer revenue, up 16% from the prior year. This financial service company also recently acquired HiFx, a large provider for online initiated international payments and foreign exchange services. This deal is expected to close by June. Euronet already has a worldwide presence that will be married with Wal-Mart’s global infrastructure and scale.

Financial Services added about $4.8 billion to Wal-Mart’s topline revenue last year, according to the retailer’s annual filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

Wal-Mart is holding a press conference Thursday morning (April 17) to provide more details on the service it is bringing in-house.