MEXICO CITY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Walmart's ( WMT ) Mexico and

Central America unit is preparing to launch its

debit card service, an executive said on Thursday.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Walmex, as the company is also known, is Mexico's largest

retailer. It bought a payment app in 2023 to become its fintech

service, known as Cashi, which faces competition from other

major market players such as lender Nubank and e-commerce giant

MercadoLibre.

KEY QUOTES

"Very soon we'll be able to launch our Cashi account," said

Walmex's head of financial services, Marcelino Herrera, "where

we'll offer an account with a debit card."

"For a company like Walmart ( WMT ) this is new, really important.

The card; being able to receive remittances digitally to the

account."

BY THE NUMBERS

Walmex is also eyeing expanding its credit service this

year, Herrera said. It currently signs off on loans of up to

20,000 pesos ($978.24).

WHAT'S NEXT

Walmex is not currently considering applying for a banking

license, Herrera said, "but we aren't ruling it out for the

future."

($1 = 20.4448 Mexican pesos)