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Released: October 09, 2012

Wal-Mart goes head-to-head with banks with prepaid card

Source: Danielle Douglas, Washington Post (Free Registration)

Wal-mart pressed further into the financial business Monday, announcing a new type of prepaid American Express card that the world’s biggest retailer said would enable consumers to cut ties with their banks. The card will act much like debit or credit cards — except those products are covered by much stricter consumer protection laws. Customers can use the new card to get roadside assistance, bank from their smartphones and, eventually, write checks out of an account linked to the card. Such prepaid cards have grown in popularity in the wake of the credit crisis that left millions of Americans outside the traditional banking system.

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