Walmart MoneyCard now offered as demand deposit account
Walmart is working with Green Dot to build out the capabilities of the Walmart MoneyCard issued by Green Dot Bank. The companies now offer Walmart MoneyCard as a demand deposit account, which brings with it Green Dot’s more comprehensive digital banking platform, making it more similar to a traditional bank account.
With the new capabilities, Walmart MoneyCard’s more than 1 million account holders can manage their finances digitally at any Walmart location or at any of Green Dot’s more than 90,000 retail distribution locations.
“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 cash back, overdraft protection, direct deposit, interest on savings and more” said Julia Unger, vice president of Financial Services at Walmart. “We are committed to offering our customers valuable services to help them manage their financial needs.”
The companies said that the conversion of Walmart MoneyCard from a prepaid product to a demand deposit account was aimed at making digital banking and money management features more accessible.
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“As a financial technology company committed to seamlessly connecting people to their money, we’re always looking for opportunities to modernize products with helpful tools, great value and exceptional customer experiences,” said Brandon Thompson, executive vice president of retail, tax and PayCard at Green Dot. “We’re proud to introduce the ‘new’ Walmart MoneyCard as a DDA designed to benefit customers in ways that are truly meaningful and valuable to them, with many more new features and functionality to come.”
The new features available to cardholders include the ability to waive their monthly maintenance fee with a qualifying direct deposit of $500 — half the amount previously required. Additionally, the card now offers up to $200 in overdraft protection, and cardholders who receive an eligible direct deposit can choose one of three different coverage levels. Through Aug. 15, the retailer is offering a $20 bonus for new cardholders with a qualifying direct deposit of $500 or more.
Though Walmart is no stranger to financial services offerings, the move comes as more retailers begin to round out the financial services that are available to their shoppers.
Among national chains, Walgreens introduced two financial services-focused products in as many months earlier this year. In January, the retail chain kicked off partnerships with Mastercard and Synchrony to offer credit cards and prepaid debit cards. Walgreens also said it planned to leverage the partnership to drive insights and analytics, customer engagement, loyalty, cybersecurity. and point-of-sale financing efforts. That was followed in March by a partnership with InComm payments to offer bank accounts to its shoppers via MetaBank, which included a Mastercard debit card that connects to the myWalgreens loyalty system.
Among regional retailers making a foray into financial services, Hy-Vee unveiled a host of offerings earlier this week — checking and savings accounts, auto and home insurance, home mortgages, consumer loans, and even pet insurance — across its eight-state region. Like Walgreens, Hy-Vee’s financial products also make a loyalty play by offering exclusive insurance services, mortgage loans and pet insurance savings to some of its loyalty members.