Dive Brief:
- Walmart is offering Fiserv’s Clover services to its small and mid-sized business clients as well as non-profit customers, according to a press release the retail juggernaut issued Wednesday. The Clover services will be pitched through the company’s Walmart Business division, which sells various services to SMBs.
- Through Clover, the SMBs can tap software services for sales reporting as well as cash flow management, among other daily operational tasks that are important to those types of businesses, the release said.
- “Offering Clover solutions is a testament to our goal of providing customers with the products, tools and services they want and need to effectively streamline their operations,” Walmart Business’ Senior Vice President Ashley Hubka said in the release.
Dive Insight:
The Bentonville, Arkansas retailer’s offering of Clover services to its business customers builds on the payments tie it struck up last month with Fiserv when they said Walmart’s retail customers would have access to a real-time payments capability offered by the mega processor, potentially disintermediating credit card use.
Milwaukee-based Fiserv has created Clover as a multi-pronged service targeted at restaurants and small retailers. The company has been expanding Clover’s clientele at a rapid pace in the U.S. and has set its sights on gaining global traction as well. While it faces significant competition in that realm, from companies such as Block’s Square, it said it will double revenue over the next two years.
The alignment with Walmart could help Fiserv accomplish that lofty Clover goal, given Walmart’s powerful brand and reach as one the largest retailers in the world. A spokesperson for Walmart didn’t immediately respond to questions about the number of Walmart Business clients, and when the Clover offering was first posted.
Companies increasingly see SMBs as potential customers and have begun marketing to them in ways similar to the how they market to everyday consumers.
For instance, Walmart used the release to float a $500 discount on Clover products through January of next year, and also offered a $100 giftcard to customers who sign up for a merchant account.
