Walmart and Sam’s Club announced new efforts aimed at providing relief for small businesses impacted by COVID-19. In a blog post published last evening, Walmart President & CEO, John Furner, and Sam’s Club President & CEO, Kath McLay, laid out two measures the company will be taking to help small business.

Rent Relief

A variety of small businesses operate inside Walmart Supercenters and Sam’s Club locations across the country. These include local hair and nail salons, optometrists, restaurant franchises, veterinary clinics, banks and others. Rent will be waived for all Walmart property partners for the month of April as well as for the hundreds of eye doctors who operate at Sam’s Clubs.

Walmart and Sam’s Club work hand-in-hand with locally-owned businesses, like 2 Friends and a Chef by Barbosa, to provide essential services for the Houston community. The goal is to help eliminate the financial burden these businesses may be facing due to the spread of COVID-19 in Houston.

Supply Chain Financing Program

This is also a difficult time for some suppliers, who may be facing maxed capital as their business models change and shift. Because of this, the company is making changes to its Supply Chain Financing Program, which is a program where Walmart and Sam’s Club work with national banks to allow qualified suppliers to get payments from the retailer faster. Program improvements include: adding dedicated resources to speed up the on-boarding process; eliminating an eligibility requirement; and adding JPMorgan Chase as a partner (they join existing partners Citibank and Wells Fargo).

More information about these measures to support small business can be found on the Walmart Blog.