Walmart Makes Financial Services Push

According to Finextra (and recent developments) "Retail giant Walmart is ramping up its assault on the financial services sector, acquiring a minor stake in US pre-paid outfit Green Dot and launching its first credit card in Canada on the back of a recently awarded banking license in the country."



Read More: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=21505



Here is a related story from the NY Times:

Wal-Mart Stores has bought itself an indirect link to U.S. commercial banking space through a deal to invest in the pre-paid debit card seller Green Dot, The Financial Times reported Earlier this month, the retail giant bought a minority stake of roughly 2 million shares in Green Dot, which already manages Wal-Mart’s pre-paid card business, according to a regulatory filing.

The move comes as Green Dot awaits regulatory approval on a $15. 7 million deal it signed in February to buy Bonneville Bank, a small Utah-based commercial bank, The Financial Times noted.

Plans by Wal-Mart to open its own bank were quashed in 2007 amid intense lobbying from the financial sector, Reuters noted.  Companies like Green Dot have been flourishing since the onset of the recession.  <<Read More>>

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