People wearing masks walk on a crosswalk near a Walgreens on September 30, 2020 in New York.
Alexi Rosenfeld | Getty Images
Walgreens said Wednesday it will provide customers with a growing list of financial products – including a co-branded credit card and a prepaid debit card – as it tries to earn more wallets and help them manage expensive medical expenses. .
Credit cards will be launched in the second half of this year. These will be part of the Mastercard network and will be issued by Synchrony. These will be linked to Walgreens’ new loyalty program, which the company relaunched in November with a new name, benefits and pandemic-inspired features, such as boarding and delivery via DoorDash and Postmates.
Walgreens and colleagues in pharmacies are adapting to rapidly changing consumer behaviors that have accelerated during the pandemic. Walgreens has sought new business opportunities, including an agreement with Village® to open hundreds of primary care clinics in its stores.
John Standley, president of Walgreens, said the company also sees financial services as one of those growth factors. “As we continue to focus on creating new revenue streams, we look forward to exploring and introducing more health and wellness payment initiatives in the near future,” he said in a news release.
It is the second largest retailer this week to announce plans to expand into financial services. Walmart said Monday that it is creating a fintech start-up with Ribbit Capital, one of the venture capital firms that supports Robinhood. The separate company will be owned mostly by the large retailer.
The pandemic and recession have put pressure on many families, who are trying to stretch their money while paying their bills and coping with reduced hours or unemployment. For the holidays, for example, a growing number of consumers have been looking for other ways to finance their purchases. The use of “buy now, pay later” for online orders increased by 109% during the holiday shopping season from November 1 to December 31, the highest preparation taking place in the last week before Christmas, according to a recent Sales Force report.
Affirm Holdings, a provider of installment loans to online shoppers, will begin trading on the Nasdaq later Wednesday.