Superstores are everyone’s preferred stop for their monthly grocery run thanks to its wider variety of inventory and services, and overall convenience. Walmart, the popular big box chain, is no different but now the company is looking to introduce banking to its already generous share of offerings.
Groceries, clothes, and now banking — is Walmart doing it all?
The popular blue and yellow grocery chain could just take one stop off of your list of errands for the day. Going to certain branches could mean you get to skip waiting for hours in bank lines as Walmart introduces their own MoneyCenter.
Whilst it is not exactly a bank. the MoneyCenter offers a large range of financial services to aid your day-to-day processes. The MoneyCenter exists in Walmart stores in partnership with Green Dot Bank, an FDIC-insured bank.
What kind of services are offered at MoneyCenter?
Shoppers can rejoice at the prospect of convenience since these MoneyCenters offer a good amount of the services that most banks and credit unions do.
Amongst these services, shoppers can find:
One cash debit card
The Walmart One Debit Card offers 3% cash back at Walmart up to $50 a year. For a limited time, however, you can get 10% cash back, up to $20, on your first Walmart purchase with the One Debit card within a month of signing up. There are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, in addition to having overdraft protection services.
Walmart MoneyCard
The Walmart MoneyCard is a debit card that allows you to earn rewards on Walmart purchases, up to $75 per year. Cardholders can earn 3% cash back at Walmart.com, 2% cash back at Walmart fuel stations, and 1% cash back at Walmart stores.
This card also offers overdraft protection up to $200, early direct deposit, and free cash deposits at Walmart. There is a monthly fee of $5.94, but it is waived when you direct-deposit $500 or more in the previous monthly period.
Reloadable debit cards
Green Dot Bank is providing reloadable debit cards at Walmart stores. The Green Dot Visa® Debit Card charges a monthly fee of $7.95, but it can be waived with monthly direct deposits of at least $500. The Green Dot Pay As You Go Visa® Debit Card does not come with monthly fees, but each transaction incurs a $1.50 fee.
Both cards also offer overdraft protection up to $200, as well as early direct deposit.
General financial services
Other services that shoppers can make use of include:
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Cash and print checks
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Pay bills
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Send money orders
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Load money onto a Walmart MoneyCard
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Cash payroll checks, government checks, tax checks, and cashier’s checks
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File taxes
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Use buy now, pay later (BNPL) services
Will this move render banks obsolete?
For “unbanked” customers who shy away from traditional banks because of excessive fees or higher minimum deposit requirements, a low-cost banking option is available. According to the most recent data from the FDIC, about 5.6 million households in the U.S. are unbanked.
The retailer can also offer competitive rewards tailored to its customers this way.
Since Walmart is a retailer first, it cannot offer the full spectrum of services such as credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, auto loans, credit score tools, and Zelle payments, the way a major financial institution would.
However, the retailer does offer broader customer service hours and has produced an entirely novel experience for its customers, as compared to visiting a brick-and-mortar bank branch — but it does all come down to each customer’s personal preference.
Customers should also note that a fair amount of financial products offered by the retailer have high fees tacked on to them. As such clients will have to make the call between convenience or a lower fee payment.