Walmart has reportedly lured away two Goldman Sachs bankers to help lead its new fintech venture

Walmart has reportedly lured away two Goldman Sachs bankers to help lead its new fintech venture

As Walmart looks to launch a fintech startup, the retailer is turning to Wall Street veterans to help it move into the banking world.

Walmart Inc. has picked up two senior bankers from Goldman Sachs to help lead the retailer's new fintech startup arm, Bloomberg reported on Sunday. Omer Ismail, the head of Goldman's consumer bank, and David Stark, one of his top lieutenants, will leave the bank to help bolster Walmart's venture into financial services with investment firm Ribbit Capital, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The departure of Ismail, who runs Marcus, was a "surprise," the sources told Bloomberg. 

Walmart announced earlier this year that it was partnering with Ribbit Capital, the firm backing fintech startups such as Robinhood, Affirm, and Credit Karma, to offer financial products for customers and employees. The startup, which has yet to be publicly named, will be mostly owned by Walmart and will include several Walmart executives on its board.

Customers have "made it clear they want more from us in the financial services arena," president and CEO of Walmart US John Furner said previously in a statement. Walmart's current financial service offerings include the Walmart CapitalOne credit card, the prepaid Walmart MoneyCard, and the