Wal-Mart Goes Paperless for Payments
Kathryn Elizabeth Tuggle
Sept. 3, 2009
Wal-Mart (WMT: 51.6, -0.14, -0.27%), the largest private employer in the U.S., has decided to go paperless when paying employees and is switching to direct deposit and debit cards. For employees who refuse direct deposit, their pay will be offered in the form of a debit card.
The program is rolling out nationally in September, and is expected to be finalized by the end of 2009. Wal-Mart says the move will save 257,572 pounds of paper per year as well as an unspecified amount of money. Currently, Wal-Mart has 1.4 million employees, and half of them receive paper checks.
Wal-Mart isn’t the only organization to go totally paperless; the Social Security Administration also offers employees payment through plastic.
www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/retail/wal-mart-goes-paperless-payments/
Transactions on Wal-Mart’s debit cards will be handled through First Data Corp, which will offer one free ATM transaction per pay period to users looking to take money out, and will charge subsequent withdrawals at $2 each. Workers can also withdraw their money from registers at Wal-Mart for free.