Services are critical to the overall growth strategy at Walmart and, although its moves into curbside pickup, product delivery and health care tend to get more attention, the retailer has been expanding its financial service offering as well, just announcing a deal with Green Dot for the issuance of the Walmart MoneyCard issued by Green Dot Bank.
Walmart has been investing to boost services to drive traffic to its physical and digital stores but also to generate brand loyalty. The strategy bears similarities to that pursued successfully by Tesco in the United Kingdom, a market Walmart recently dropped after years of intense competition with established banners such as Tesco and newcomers such as Aldi and Lidl. Walmart has recently expanded a relationship with Western Union for money transfer services and, in October of 2019, announced that it had struck a deal with Green Dot to establish a new fintech accelerator under the name TailFin Labs, LLC, aimed at developing innovative financial products, services and technologies.
The Walmart MoneyCard card taps a demand deposit account operated by Green Dot, a financial technology and registered bank holding company, that the partners said better equips Walmart customers to save money and live better.
With the deal, new and existing Walmart MoneyCard account holders will be able to access Green Dot’s more comprehensive digital banking platform. Green Dot accounts work in a way similar to those at traditional banks, the partners announced, and can make it easier and more convenient for account holders to manage their finances either digitally, at Walmart’s 4,500-plus locations or via Green Dot’s 90,000-plus retail distribution locations nationwide.
“We are excited to work with Green Dot to provide a more convenient and innovative way for customers to manage their finances with the new Walmart MoneyCard, which offers cashback, overdraft protection, direct deposit, interest on savings and more,” said Julia Unger, VP/financial services at Walmart. “We are committed to offering our customers valuable services to help them manage their financial needs.”
