That’s right, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has entered the banking business.
The nation’s biggest retailer is partnering with Green Dot Bank to offer customers a low-cost checking account, according to a press release. Named GoBank, the checking account will come with a MasterCard debit card and checking. It will be available in Walmart stores beginning at the end of October.
All accounts will have a one-time fee of $2.95 and come with no minimum balance fees, overdraft charges or monthly fees if customers maintain at least $500 in the account through direct deposit – if this amount isn’t met then a standard $8.95 per month fee will apply.
Also, the checking accounts will be backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
“Walmart customers want easier ways to manage their everyday finances and increasingly feel they just aren’t getting value from traditional banking because of high fees,” said Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of services for Walmart U.S., in a statement Wednesday. “Adding the GoBank checking account to our shelves means our customers will have exclusive access to one of the most affordable, inclusive and easy-to-use checking accounts in the industry. GoBank gives our customers yet another option as to how they manage their money. When our customers have options, they win.”
Walmart already owns a significant share of Green Dot, a company that generates about half of its revenues through the prepaid cards sold at Walmart stores.
Although Walmart already maintains a number of financial services, such as prepaid debit cards and money transfers, the retail juggernaut has been attempting to enter the banking foray since 2005. In that year, the multi-national corporation applied for a banking license but it later withdrew the application when it received intense opposition from the industry, which believed at the time that Walmart wouldn’t face similar financial regulations and thus make it unfair to compete by slashing prices.
Richard Kovacevich, Wells Fargo & Co.’s former chief executive officer, reportedly said at a conference in New York in 2006 that “we should keep these guys out of business” and “if we cannot be in the commerce business, it is appropriate that commerce not be in the finance business.”
Other Walmart Services
Over the past several years, Walmart has ventured into various other businesses.
Canadian consumers were surprised to find the company offering $99 wills earlier this year. Launched by Toronto lawyers Lena Koke and Mark Morris, Axess Law provides clients with inexpensive and quick legal services, including $25 notarized documents.
All over the U.S., medical clinics are being established inside of Walmart. In a partnership with QuadMed, Walmart clinics will be focusing on primary care staffed with nurse practitioners. The company notes that its objective is to offer a low-cost alternative to conventional choices as walk-in visits will cost just $40.
“For our associates and dependents on the health plan, you can come and see a provider in the Wal-Mart Care Clinic for $4. Four dollars!” Jennifer LaPerre, a company official, said in April. “That is setting a new retail price in the health care industry.”
Walmart also caused a bit of controversy a few years ago when it began to offer discount coffins and urns.
What will Walmart (NYSE:WMT) try next?
