Walmart Stores Rolling Out Checking Account

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville announced Wednesday its intentions to go head-to-head with mainstream banks and offer a mobile checking account for its customers.

In partnership with Green Dot Corp. of Monrovia, California, Walmart will begin a nationwide rollout of GoBank, a checking account product available exclusively on the retailer’s shelves.

In a news release, the two companies say the checking account, from federally insured Green Dot Bank is designed for today’s “on-the-go” customer, providing a host of modern features and a linked MasterCard debit card.

GoBank doesn’t charge overdraft fees, minimum balance fees or monthly fees with qualifying direct deposits. A monthly membership charge of $8.95 is waived if a direct deposit of $500 is made each month.

The product will be available nationwide by the end of October.

Additional features of GoBank include:

• Early payroll direct deposit so customers can get their paycheck deposited earlier than their normal payday if their employer notifies GoBank of a deposit in advance
• A feature called “Fortune Teller” will crosscheck the product’s price with a customer’s planned income and expenses.
• Customers can instantly send money to each other via email or text message, at no extra charge.