Walmart CTO Says Crypto Will Become An Important Payment Tool

• Suresh Kumar said that crypto will be an important payment tool in the future.
• He explained that it will be a way of making customers and consumers discover new products.
  

Walmart’s Chief Technology Officer Suresh Kumar has said that cryptocurrency will become a major area of disruption in how customers pay for both physical and virtual goods in the future.

Speaking at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit on October 17th, Kumar said that Walmart is “supportive of digital assets” and that “crypto will become an important part of how customers transact.”

Kumar pointed to three major areas of disruption in the way customers shop: the way they are inspired and discover products, the way they purchase products, and the way they pay for products. He said that crypto could play a role in all three areas.

In terms of product discovery, Kumar said that many customers will be marketed to online, through the metaverse and live streams on social media apps. He said that crypto could help to make these experiences more immersive and engaging.

For payments, Kumar said that Walmart wants to make it easy and free for customers to transact with crypto. He said that he believes this is where the disruption will start happening in terms of different payment methods and options.

Walmart’s interest in crypto is not surprising. The company has been exploring the metaverse and NFTs for some time. In September, Walmart launched a virtual store in the Roblox metaverse called Walmart Land. The store offers virtual merchandise products called “verch” for users’ avatars.

Walmart has also filed several patents related to crypto and blockchain technology. In January, the company filed a patent for a system that would allow customers to buy and sell NFTs in-store.

Kumar’s comments suggest that Walmart is serious about crypto and that the company sees it as a key part of its future. It will be interesting to see how Walmart integrates crypto into its business in the coming years.