Large retailers such as Walmart may cut or even eliminate payment processing fees. This is resulting in literally billions of dollars of cost savings for Walmart. Meanwhile, companies like Fiserv, which provides payment services to banks, might lose revenue from credit card processing but benefit from direct-to-bank payment systems like Walmart’s OnePay.
Any questions on Crypto or Blockchain disrupting Traditional Finance can be set aside. Crypto and Blockchain are so deeply embedded into the Financial system now, it is impossible to stop the transition. The important questions are – Who benefits the most? – Who can adapt to the change? Who will go out of business because of the transition to Crypto & Blockchain?
As the top 10 global retailers begin to bypass traditional bank settlements using blockchain-based rails, the role of traditional banking in retail finance is being fundamentally challenged.
Walmart (WMT) $131.04
Profit margins to soar as Walmart reduces or eliminates credit card processing fees… because of crypto/blockchain adoption
Walmart has not publicly disclosed a specific total dollar amount for projected savings from its OnePay digital system, the strategic shift toward “pay-by-bank” and in-house fintech services is designed to save the company billions of dollars in annual processing fees.
Projected Economic Impact
- Total Fee Exposure: In 2026, if every Walmart transaction were a credit card swipe, the company would face between $7.5 billion and $18 billion in annual fees.
- Swipe Fee Reduction: Traditional credit card “swipe fees” average roughly 2.24% per transaction. By processing payments through the OnePay app—specifically using pay-by-bank (ACH) transfers—Walmart can reduce these costs to a flat fee of just a few cents per transaction.
- Incentivized Savings: Walmart is aggressively moving customers toward its own ecosystem to bypass the 1.5% to 3.5% fees typically charged by external credit card networks. Some analysts suggest the savings are so significant that Walmart could theoretically afford to discount prices by up to 10% for users who choose instant bank payments.
Key Cost-Saving Components of OnePay
- Pay-by-Bank (Instant Payments): Launched in partnership with Fiserv, this feature allows customers to pay directly from their bank accounts, entirely sidestepping traditional card networks.
- Internalization of Rewards: By issuing the OnePay CashRewards Mastercard (via Synchrony Bank) and the OnePay Walmart Spend Card, Walmart retains more control over the payment lifecycle and can offer high cashback rates (up to 5% for Walmart+ members) while managing its own merchant costs.
- Operational Efficiency: The system integrates services like Scan & Go, which reduces average in-store shopping time by 6.4 minutes, further lowering labor-related overhead per transaction.
Estimated Payment Processing Costs per $100 Transaction (2026) – OnePay (Direct Bank Transfer/ACH): $0.05
What L1 layer it will be used as Walmart implements its OnePay system?
Walmart’s OnePay system (now active as of January 2026) does not operate on its own proprietary Layer 1 (L1) blockchain. Instead, it functions as a fintech “super app” that bridges traditional financial infrastructure with existing public blockchain networks.
Primary Networks Used
- Bitcoin (BTC): OnePay utilizes the Bitcoin network for its primary cryptocurrency trading, custody, and retail payment features.
- Ethereum (ETH): The system also supports Ethereum for trading and digital asset management.
Infrastructure and “Layers”
- Infrastructure Layer: The core “layer” powering OnePay’s blockchain capabilities is ZeroHash, a B2B2C crypto infrastructure provider. ZeroHash provides the APIs and backend necessary for real-time conversion between crypto (Bitcoin/Ether) and fiat (USD) at the point of sale.
- Traditional Rail Integration: OnePay’s retail payments still largely interact with traditional financial rails. For instance, the OnePay CashRewards Mastercard is issued by Synchrony Bank (SYF) and operates on the Mastercard network.
- Supply Chain (Legacy): Separately from the consumer-facing OnePay app, Walmart has historically used Hyperledger Fabric (an enterprise private blockchain) for its food traceability and supply chain management.
Key Features of OnePay (2026)
- Crypto-to-Fiat Conversion: Users can hold Bitcoin and Ether in their mobile app and convert it to cash instantly to spend at Walmart stores or pay down card balances.
- Super App Services: Beyond payments, OnePay offers high-yield savings (via Coastal Community Bank or Lead Bank), credit cards, and its own branded wireless service, OnePay Wireless, which runs on the AT&T network.
What other Retailers will Follow Walmart’s lead int Crypto & Blockchain?
Other major retailers are already following Walmart’s lead into cryptocurrency as of February 2026, with 39% of U.S. merchants now accepting digital assets at checkout. Retailers like Starbucks, Home Depot, and Whole Foods have integrated crypto payment options, often through partnerships with processors like BitPay or Coinbase Commerce. This widespread adoption is expected to normalize digital assets as a mainstream payment method, potentially ending the “four-year cycle” of extreme volatility in favor of a more stable, institutionally-driven market
Walmart and Fiserv Connection:
As payments shift from creditcards to digital payment like OneCard at Walmart how will this impact companies like Fiserv?
The shift toward digital payments and store-specific ecosystems like Walmart’s OnePay (which includes the OneCard) represents both a competitive threat and a major infrastructure opportunity for companies like Fiserv.
Rather than being sidelined, Fiserv is positioning itself as the critical “plumbing” that makes these non-card transactions possible.
1. Shift from Card Networks to “Pay-by-Bank”
Walmart is actively partnering with Fiserv to bypass traditional credit card networks (Visa/Mastercard) and their high “swipe fees,” which cost retailers billions annually.
- Infrastructure Provider: Walmart uses Fiserv’s NOW Network to enable real-time “pay-by-bank” transactions. This allows shoppers to pay directly from their bank accounts, with funds settling instantly via FedNow and RTP.
- Revenue Reclassification: While Fiserv might lose some traditional card-processing volume, it gains new transaction fees as the primary architect of these private, real-time payment rails.
2. Supporting Digital Wallet Ecosystems
As brands like Walmart launch their own fintech products through OnePay, they require backend stability that only large-scale processors can provide.
- Wallet-as-a-Service: Fiserv provides the Fintech Ledger and APIs that allow companies to offer digital wallets, high-yield savings, and peer-to-peer payments.
- Data & Loyalty: By moving payments into a digital app, Fiserv’s technology helps retailers capture deeper data on shopper behavior, which can then be used for personalized offers and geolocation-based marketing.
3. Impact on Core Business Segments
- Merchant Acceptance: Fiserv’s Clover POS platform is being upgraded to accept these “alternative payment methods” (APMs) seamlessly, ensuring they remain relevant even if physical plastic cards disappear.
- Fraud Mitigation: Digital transactions allow Fiserv to use neural networks and AI to fight fraud more effectively than with traditional cards, reportedly reducing fraud by over 20% for early adopters.
- Disintermediation Risk: The biggest risk to Fiserv is “closed-loop” systems where a retailer handles everything internally. However, most retailers still rely on Fiserv for the complex regulatory compliance and bank connectivity required for these systems to function.
Fiserv (FISV)
As payments shift from creditcards to digital payment like OnePay at walmart;
How will this impact companies like Fiserv?
The shift toward digital payments and store-specific ecosystems like Walmart’s OnePay (which includes the OneCard) represents both a competitive threat and a major infrastructure opportunity for companies like Fiserv.
Rather than being sidelined, Fiserv is positioning itself as the critical “plumbing” that makes these non-card transactions possible.
1. Shift from Card Networks to “Pay-by-Bank”
Walmart is actively partnering with Fiserv to bypass traditional credit card networks (Visa/Mastercard) and their high “swipe fees,” which cost retailers billions annually.
- Infrastructure Provider: Walmart uses Fiserv’s NOW Network to enable real-time “pay-by-bank” transactions. This allows shoppers to pay directly from their bank accounts, with funds settling instantly via FedNow and RTP.
- Revenue Reclassification: While Fiserv might lose some traditional card-processing volume, it gains new transaction fees as the primary architect of these private, real-time payment rails.
2. Supporting Digital Wallet Ecosystems
As brands like Walmart launch their own fintech products through OnePay, they require backend stability that only large-scale processors can provide.
- Wallet-as-a-Service: Fiserv provides the Fintech Ledger and APIs that allow companies to offer digital wallets, high-yield savings, and peer-to-peer payments.
- Data & Loyalty: By moving payments into a digital app, Fiserv’s technology helps retailers capture deeper data on shopper behavior, which can then be used for personalized offers and geolocation-based marketing.
3. Impact on Core Business Segments
- Merchant Acceptance: Fiserv’s Clover POS platform is being upgraded to accept these “alternative payment methods” (APMs) seamlessly, ensuring they remain relevant even if physical plastic cards disappear.
- Fraud Mitigation: Digital transactions allow Fiserv to use neural networks and AI to fight fraud more effectively than with traditional cards, reportedly reducing fraud by over 20% for early adopters.
- Disintermediation Risk: The biggest risk to Fiserv is “closed-loop” systems where a retailer handles everything internally. However, most retailers still rely on Fiserv for the complex regulatory compliance and bank connectivity required for these systems to function.
Retail Adoption Trends in 2026
- Direct & Indirect Acceptance: While Walmart uses its OnePay app for in-store Bitcoin and Ethereum payments, others like Amazon, Target, and Best Buy are primarily accessed via crypto-funded gift cards from platforms like Bitrefill.
- Sector Leaders: The shift is most pronounced in E-commerce (69% interest), Luxury Retail (76%), and Travel/Hospitality (81%).
- Consumer Demand: Adoption is being fueled by Gen Z (82%) and Millennials (77%), who increasingly request crypto payment options.
Market Impacts
- Liquidity and Stability: Increased retail transaction volume is expected to boost overall market liquidity. Analysts predict that as crypto moves from “digital gold” to an everyday utility, price movements will become more closely correlated with traditional indices like the NASDAQ 100.
- Regulatory Acceleration: Retail expansion is a primary driver for new legislation, such as the CLARITY Act and GENIUS Act, which are expected to become U.S. law in 2026 to provide framework for payment stablecoins and digital asset market structures.
- Banking Disruption: As the top 10 global retailers begin to bypass traditional bank settlements using blockchain-based rails, the role of traditional banking in retail finance is being fundamentally challenged.
- Stablecoin Growth: Stablecoins are projected to surpass $1 trillion in circulation by the end of 2026, acting as the primary bridge for retail checkout and B2B settlements.
How will Visa and Mastercard be impacted by retal shifting to direct-to-bank processing Similar to OnePay from Walmart
Retailers shifting to direct-to-bank processing (similar to Walmart’s OnePay) poses a multi-faceted threat to Visa and Mastercard, primarily through fee erosion, loss of transaction data, and network disintermediation.
1. Direct Revenue Erosion
- Swipe Fee Losses: Direct-to-bank (Account-to-Account or A2A) payments bypass the traditional “swipe” fees. Visa and Mastercard typically earn a percentage of every transaction; if a major retailer like Walmart moves even 10% of its volume to a direct system, these networks lose billions in high-margin revenue.
- Interchange Caps: New legal settlements and legislation like the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) are already forcing networks to lower fees to stay competitive with these cheaper direct-processing alternatives.
2. Strategic Disintermediation
- Ownership of the Rails: By using fintech ventures like OnePay, retailers can create their own “closed-loop” systems. While OnePay still uses Mastercard’s network for broad acceptance, the goal is often to keep as much traffic as possible within their own ecosystem where they control the costs.
- Control over Rewards: Retailers can offer more aggressive loyalty incentives (e.g., 5% cash back via OnePay) than traditional bank-issued cards, incentivizing customers to stop using their standard Visa or Mastercard.
3. Data and Relationship Loss
- Loss of Customer Insight: Visa and Mastercard rely on transaction data to fuel their Value-Added Services, which now account for up to 40% of their revenue. Direct-to-bank processing keeps this valuable consumer behavior data entirely with the retailer.
- Weakened Brand Relevance: As payment functionality is “embedded” into retail apps, the physical card (and the network brand on it) becomes invisible to the consumer, reducing the networks’ brand equity.
4. Counter-Strategies by Visa and Mastercard
- Pivoting to Services: Both companies are shifting focus toward fraud prevention, cybersecurity, and data analytics to replace lost transaction income.
- Acquiring Open Banking Tech: To stay relevant, they are acquiring the very “open banking” startups that enable direct-to-bank transfers, essentially trying to own the new rails as well as the old ones.
LOTM Research & Consulting Service
* An account related to LOTM holds a position in this security.
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