High Bank Fees Give Wal-Mart a Money Aisle

[Klukie]

Americans say they are fed up with banks. They are protesting on Wall Street and raising a ruckus over outsized fees. Now there is a surprising beneficiary: Wal-Mart.

Geoffrey Cardone, a 26-year-old factory worker, said he dumped his bank account because he felt he was being nickeled and dimed by fees. His new payday ritual includes a trip to the Wal-Mart in northeastern Pennsylvania.

“It’s cheaper,” said Mr. Cardone, who was charged a flat fee of $3 to cash his paycheck. Many check-cashing stores keep a percentage of the check, which tends to be higher.

The Wal-Mart in Dickson City has a clerk in a brightly painted Money Center near the entrance, like more than 1,000 other Wal-Marts across the country. Customers can cash work and government checks, pay bills, wire money overseas or load money on to a prepaid debit card. At most Wal-Marts without dedicated Money Centers, the financial services are available at the customer service desks or kiosks.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45206673

[lame54]

1. the more things change the more they stay the same...

from one crook to the next

[Klukie]

2. A true one stop shop...

I posted earlier about their goal to become our Doctors office...and now they want to be our bank!!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/?ps=sh_hdshots

[HopeHoops]

3. Fuck WalMart

[Klukie]

4. +1

[Magoo48]

5. Well put!!!

[HopeHoops]

7. Is there a better way?

:shrug:

[Klukie]

6. More from the article..

"Four years ago, Wal-Mart abandoned its plans to obtain a long-sought federal bank charter amid opposition from the banking industry and lawmakers, who feared the huge retailer would drive small bankers out of business and potentially conflate its banking and retail operations. Ever since, Wal-Mart has been quietly building up à la carte financial services, becoming a force among the unbanked and “unhappily banked,” as one Wal-Mart executive put it."

[movonne]

8. Pretty soon Wal-mart will own everthing....and capitalism wins...

[Hestia]

11. Arvest "Bank of Walmart" is already in Ark., they bought some charter about

10 years bank. I believe they are only located in Ark. My mom's bank sold to them.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. I'm almost willing to bet that if I walked into Wal-Mart with my paycheck, they wouldn't cash it.

I think they would have some type of limit to the amount of cash they have on hand and a large pay check might just put them over the edge. I got yelled out one time for taking 'all my cash' after using my debit card and asking for $200 extra.

[hedgehog]

10. Did grocery stores stop cashing pay checks for free?

[Book Lover]

12. Yes

Maybe I'm too young (though at 43, I thought I'd not be saying that too often anymore), but when did they ever cash a paycheck for free? The local Safeway takes a smaller cut than the local check cashing place, but yep, they charge plenty.

I'm in California: your locale may differ.