Walmart said Monday that it’s creating a fintech start-up with Ribbit Capital, one of the venture capital firms behind Robinhood.

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Walmart already offers some financial services for customers. For example, it has Walmart MoneyCard, a prepaid debit card that customers can load with money and use for purchases. The card has some features that encourage money management or help people who may have a challenged credit history, such as no overdraft fees, no monthly fee and no minimum balance requirement.

The retailer also offers alternative payment plans for customers on a tight budget, such as layaway and Klarna, an online financial services option that allows shoppers to buy an item immediately and pay in installments.

Walmart’s co-owner of the new company, Ribbit Capital, has a history of investing in fintech companies. Its portfolio includes Robinhood, a fee-free investing start-up; Credit Karma, a company that offers consumer-friendly tools like free credit score checks; and Affirm, a financial lender that offers customers alternative payment options like buying now and paying later.

Lots of companies have gotten serious about environmental, social, and governance issues in recent years. But few are more surprising than Walmart.

That’s not just because of its sheer size—2.2 million employees, 11,500 retail locations, and revenues that exceed the gross domestic product of most countries—but also because Walmart (ticker: WMT) has long been anathema to socially conscious consumers and investors. Environmentalists bemoaned the company’s massive carbon footprint, gun safety advocates criticized it for selling assault-style rifles, and workplace advocates demanded that it raise its hourly minimum wage.

“They’ve gone from being seen as a problem to becoming a significant part of the solution,” says John Streur, the CEO of Calvert Research and Management, a leader in ESG research and investing.

Early last year, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon began a two-year term as chairman of the Business Roundtable, the CEO trade group that recently said that corporations must act on behalf of all stakeholders, not just shareholders. In Walmart’s 140-page ESG report, McMillon writes, “There are a lot of stereotypes out there about Walmart. It’s no secret to us that we have critics who assume we’re doing business at the expense of people and the planet—that we’re all talk. The fact is, though, we’ve been working hard to use our scale to create positive change for a long time now.”

Still reeling from the aftermath of the deadly insurrection at the seat of the U.S. government last week, U.S. Capitol Police have designated Yogananda Pittman as the law enforcement agency's acting chief.

She has been with the force since April 2001 and was named acting chief on Friday, according to the U. S. Capitol Police (USCP) website. That came two days after pro-Trump extremists faced off and eventually overwhelmed security forces at the U.S. Capitol complex.

Pittman is the first woman and the first African American to lead the law enforcement agency, USCP confirms to NPR.

She assumed the role a day after now-former USCP Chief Steven Sund announced his resignation following a mob laying siege to the Capitol, ransacking lawmakers' offices, breaking windows and defacing walls and statues inside the complex. Sund said he was stepping down just hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed for his removal.

Andrew Feinberg
@AndrewFeinberg
·
Jan 11, 2021
Replying to @AndrewFeinberg
Have inquired with @StateDept and @whitehouse
Andrew Feinberg
@AndrewFeinberg
🚨🚨🚨The White House did not deny, just referred my query about this to the @StateDept

A US Capitol Police officer on duty during Wednesday's coup attempt by Trump supporters died by suicide on Saturday, his family has announced.

Officer Howard Liebengood, 51, had been assigned to the Senate Division and joined the department in 2005.

Barry Pollack, a lawyer for Liebengood's family, told BuzzFeed News the officer had been at the Capitol during the insurrection.

"His death is a tragedy that has deprived all of us a dedicated public servant," Pollack said. "His family has suffered a devastating loss and asks that they be given space to grieve in private."