Walmart Joins CUs, Community Banks, in Consumer Fallout w/Big Banks Posted by AVCU on 9:36 AM

Walmart locations in Tennessee and around the country are making a concentrated push into certain areas of the banking world, offering check-cashing, money orders, wire transfers and prepaid debit cards from the company’s Money Centers, often situated near a store’s entrance with walls painted an attention-grabbing canary yellow. Walmart may be attracting disgruntled banking customers who have turned their backs on traditional banks after new fees were introduced in recent months, a boon for community banks, credit unions, and now, Walmart.

Some analysts opine that although Walmart is assisting legions of “underbanked” customers nationwide, the retailer is falling short of helping customers save and improve their credit. Americans don’t save, and Walmart is merely addressing a demand for short-term transactions.

Walmart does not have a bank charter and thus does not act as a lender. Some observers say as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau mulls how to best regulate nonbanks, the Money Center, which outsources nearly all of its services, might be placed under federal scrutiny.

Read the full story on Walmart's foray into financial services in the Tennessean.