As announced on Wednesday, September 24, Wal-Mart is incorporating personal banking while a partnership with Green Dot creates a new banking experience for their valued customers. Both parties have introduced GoBank, which is a mobile banking service housed for checking accounts. This is going to be available in Wal-Mart retail stores sometime in October this year. 

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GoBank promotes that any fee would be waived if customers would opt to a $500 direct deposit arrangement instead of regular $8.95 monthly charges accounts. Waiver of charges, such as overdraft, minimum maintaining balance, or bounced checks, would also be enforced.

On top of that, withdrawal fees of over 42,000 ATMs would be taken away. With these astounding benefits of the new banking service, customers would be able to easily access their bank accounts. Chief executive officer and founder of Green Dot, Steve Streit, says that GoBank would ease out traditional banking. He also pointed out that GoBank would provide great benefits in a large array of segments to holders of FDIC-insured checking accounts.

Over the years, Wal-Mart has developed in-store services including tax services, wire transfers, and health care services. Although these were expanded, they've spotted that there are windows of opportunity to services relating to banking and finance.

Due to financial situations and low credit scores, it is difficult for some people to establish traditional bank accounts, thereby creating the need to provide the aforementioned services to cater to all customers. At the same time, individuals who have limited or have no savings at all rely on check-cashing companies as many banks require a credit check.

GoBank is then suitable for these customers by giving them another way to manage their money, says Wal-Mart's senior vice president, Daniel Eckert. For basic checking accounts, it is estimated that the amount consumers pay ranges from $218 to $314 annually according to an independent study conducted by Bretton Woods.

GoBank, insured by FDIC, also offers various services that are readily available in other banks. Interested customers can sign up to GoBank with their legitimate underwriting processes, allowing almost all consumers who could pass ID verification to this account. 

Wednesday's shares for Wal-Mart went up to 2 percent at $77.08 while Green Dot reached 24.4 percent at $23.41. 

TagsGoBank, Wal-Mart Stores, GreenDot, checking account