Walmart declared an extension of its current relationship with the financial services provider Green Dot, which will remain to serve as the issuing bank and business manager for the Walmart MoneyCard program for added seven years.
The two companies also agreed to associate on the production of a new accelerator that centers on the union of retail and user financial services.
The Introduction of Tailfin Labs
The accelerator, named Tailfin Labs, will assist startups in developing solutions that combine omnichannel shopping and financial tech, which can be directed either at users or businesses.
These may include products created on top of Green Dot’s “Banking-as-a-Service” (BaaS) program.
What Is The Walmart MoneyCard?
Walmart partnered with Green Dot in 2006 to form the Walmart MoneyCard, which gives FDIC-insured accounts and cash-back bonuses on Walmart shopping.
Along with other features, like early straight deposit, online bill pay, reward savings entries, and much more.
As well as the typical set of features you’d have in a private checking account, but without the charges.
It is currently the biggest retailer exclusive prepaid account plan in the U.S.
In several ways, it was also a forerunner to the kind of mobile banking startups noticed today, which quickly target users with similar products.
This is an active area these days, as more companies go after the expanding market of millennials and also their younger Gen Z counterparts who don’t need a conventional bank.
Instead, they want banking services in a new, easy-to-use mobile interface, where innovative features assist them in saving and handling their money correctly.
Only last week, for example, the mobile banking app Current snagged $20 million more in funding for its business, presently used by half a million users.
Various others in the area involve Step, Cleo, N26, Chime, Simple, and Stash, to name some.
The new accelerator is poised to benefit on this trend, while also providing Walmart and Green Dot with a new space in the market.
The current agreement between Green Dot and Walmart starts January 1, 2020, and will renew the deal that would have unless terminated in May 2020.
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