Wal-Mart offers clothing vendors faster payment option

New York City Wal-Mart Stores is offering its clothing vendors a faster way to get paid that could change how struggling retailers and vendors do business together, the Associated Press said.

Wal-Mart recently told its more than 1,000 clothing suppliers that they can be paid within 10 to 15 days of delivering goods instead of the customary 60 to 90 days, according to the report.

The move comes after one of the nation's biggest lenders to retail businesses, CIT Group, collapsed into bankruptcy protection in an effort to cut its own debt, leaving retailers worried about whether their suppliers would be able to get financing to fill orders.

Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley said the new option lets vendors present their bill to a bank, which pays the vendor, then gets paid by Wal-Mart, the Associated Press said. The report said it is the first time Wal-Mart has offered the payment option, and so far it is available only to clothing suppliers.