At Wal-Mart, a Back Door Into Banking

New York Times ^ | June 21, 2007 | MICHAEL BARBARO and ERIC DASH

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Wal-Mart failed to get approval for a bank. But the giant discount chain is effectively building one anyway.

Wal-Mart said yesterday that it would rapidly expand the financial services offered in its vast network of stores, extending the reach of its retailing empire into its shoppers’ wallets and the traditional turf of the American banking industry.

Over the next year, the company plans to introduce a prepaid debit card, intended for low-income consumers, and install money centers — which currently offer check cashing, bill paying and money order services — into at least 1,000 stores, up from 225 now.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The introduction of such services is something of an end run around the federal government, which was considering Wal-Mart’s application to open a bank last year when the retailer withdrew its bid. The new products, like the prepaid debit card, will be offered through third-party partners, allowing Wal-Mart to sell banklike services without a government license.

Good for Wal-Mart.

CitiBank needs some competition.

NYT Usernames/Passwords from bugmenot.com:

grumpy/grumpy
silly101/revenue
qwerty12353/qwerty123
aardvark_P/aardvark_P

[shove_it]

Exactly! Tell me the rules and I’ll play the game.

[rabscuttle385]

CitiBank needs some competition.

The advantage that Citibank has is that they have branches in major cities (New York, Washington, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco) but outside of these cities, their physical presence is minimal...other than the branded ATMs at the 7-Elevens and Publix stores.

I don't think it's Citibank that Walmart is targeting, although they are certainly a competitor. The reference to Citibank in the article was just for comparison.

It's Bank of America (sometimes known as the "Bank of Mexico" and the "Bank of Illegals"). With a Walmart in practically every county and town, introducing financial services through the back door (third-party providers) would eventually give Walmart a presence comparable to Bank of America.

[libertarianPA]

I’d say it’s about time we take away financial freedom from the government and put it back in the private sector.

Hopefully, this is a start of a major trend.

[mbynack]

According to CNN, the target customers are people who can’t legally establish a bank account in a legitimate bank. (e.g., illegals)

[Graybeard58]

The advantage that Citibank has is that they have branches in major cities (New York, Washington, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco)

Wal-Mart has branches in 3500 locations in the U.S.

[Graybeard58]

According to CNN, the target customers are people who can’t legally establish a bank account in a legitimate bank.

I'm not a bit surprised that the most liberal of liberal net works puts an anti Wal-Mart spin on it.

A lot of low income citizens don't have bank accounts either.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

According to CNN, the target customers are people who can’t legally establish a bank account in a legitimate bank. (e.g., illegals)

That fact is, anybody with a bad credit history has a hard time setting up a conventional bank account.

[rabscuttle385]

But where are those locations clustered? Mostly suburban and rural areas, I suspect.

I remember reading about how Walmart was having a tough time opening stores in the more urban areas like New York City.

Correct me if I'm wrong here.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I don't think it's Citibank that Walmart is targeting, although they are certainly a competitor.

They are targeting the 3% fee on credit card transactions that CitiBank skims off the top.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I remember reading about how Walmart was having a tough time opening stores in the more urban areas like New York City.

They opened one right outside the city limits.

Gotham doesn't like free enterprise.

[Pookee]

While I agree that the banks could use a run for their money, I fear that this service is being heavily targeted at illegal aliens. I read an article in a business magazine recently that said that Wal-Mart is doing this because they realized that a large portion of their customers are not able to get accounts at traditional banks. Since I was able to get a bank account at 16 with $18 to deposit, I assume this to mean that those customers cannot get bank accounts because of their legal status, not because of their income. And at any Wal-Mart in the Houston area you will hear much more spanish than english. Even from the employees.

[rabscuttle385]

You're talking about the interchange fees, right? Yes, that's part of it...Walmart is probably sharing the fees with whatever banks are holding the funds on deposit.

But that's a stab at all financial institutions that issue debit and credit cards, not just Citibank.

[Graybeard58]

These stores are listed as near New York City:

1. Secaucus, NJ 07094
2. Kearny, NJ 07032
3. Saddle Brook, NJ 07663
4. Valley Stream (Li), NY 11581
5. Linden, NJ 07036
6. Union, NJ 07083
7. Woodbridge, NJ 07095
8. Westbury (Li), NY 11590
9. Uniondale, NY 11553
10. Watchung, NJ 07069
11. East Meadow, NY 11554
12. Old Bridge, NJ 08857
13. White Plains, NY 10601
14. Riverdale, NJ 07457
15. Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
16. Boonton, NJ 07005
17. Piscataway, NJ 08854
18. Airmont, NY 10901
19. North Brunswick, NJ 08902
20. Neptune, NJ 07753

[rabscuttle385]

The next hurdle for Wal-Mart is how to build stores in densely populated urban areas. The retailer has one store on the edge of Philadelphia and several around Los Angeles, but None in Chicago or Manhattan.

"As they start to move more and more into urban areas, it's a different real estate game. You have to start thinking about multilevel stores, which are less convenient to consumers," said Michael Collins, partner with consulting firm Bain & Co.

Reuters wire story from 2003, reposted here.

It's also because of real estate (Walmart stores can tend to become quite large, including parking area) and traffic complications.

Banks like Citibank and Chase are strong in densely-populated urban areas like New York. If Walmart can't get in there with the same traction they have in the suburban and rural markets, then neither can their financial services group.

However, in the suburban and rural markets...that's a whole different story. There are also plenty of illegals there. In those markets, banks like Bank of America, Wachovia, SunTrust, and Wells Fargo tend to dominate...and those banks will face the greatest threat from Walmart's foray into financial services.

[rabscuttle385]

Yes, but are there any inside the city?

[Gabz]

WalMart Ping!

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Yes, but are there any inside the city?

There aren't any CitiBank branches where I live.

[rabscuttle385]

From my earlier post:

but outside of these cities, their physical presence is minimal...other than the branded ATMs at the 7-Elevens and Publix stores.

Citibank is strong in an urban area like New York but has little or no physical presence in a state like Missouri.

But do you have any Bank of America branches there? Or...substitute the regional bank that dominates your area? Those banks are the ones that Walmart is targeting.

I'm talking about the retail bank here (Citibank N.A.) not the credit card operations (Citibank South Dakota, N.A.).

[Gabz]

Since I was able to get a bank account at 16 with $18 to deposit, I assume this to mean that those customers cannot get bank accounts because of their legal status, not because of their income.

But how many years ago was that? Opening a bank account, particularly a checking account is most likely a lot easier for an illegal than it is for a legit citizen who has some dings on his/her credit. I know plenty of people without bank accounts for this reason, who all have jobs and are citizens, not illegals. WalMart check-cashing services are a godsend to them.