Walmart has agreed to pay $10 million to settle accusations brought by the Federal Trade Commission, claiming it allowed scammers to exploit its in-store money transfer services, causing widespread financial harm to American consumers, according to the FTC.

The FTC’s complaint, first filed in 2022, claimed Walmart failed to take reasonable steps to prevent wire fraud between 2013 and 2018, allowing criminals to use services including MoneyGram, Western Union and Ria, all operated within Walmart locations, to funnel hundreds of millions from unsuspecting customers.

As part of the settlement, Walmart must now implement a strict set of controls designed to detect and prevent fraudulent transfers, the FTC said. The court order also prohibits the company from knowingly processing money transfers tied to telemarketing scams or advance-fee loan frauds and from aiding sellers engaged in deceptive wire-based transactions, according to the FTC.

While Walmart did not admit any wrongdoing, it agreed to continue enforcing and improving its anti-fraud systems, the retail giant said. In a statement, the company emphasized it would maintain its current safeguards and that the FTC’s case would be dismissed with prejudice once the settlement is approved by the court.