Walmart, which offers a debit card issued by Green Dot Bank named Walmart MoneyCard, is adding demand deposit account (DDA) capabilities, transforming the Walmart MoneyCard from a prepaid card to a full-suite checking account.

Why should we care?
Walmart may not have immediate plans to become a bank, but the retailer is clearly interested in enhancing its reach into financial services. With DDA capabilities, MoneyCard users get added benefits, including overdraft protection, and no monthly fees with a qualifying direct deposit of $500. With cash back rewards and interest on savings, the offering is competitive to what many digital neobanks offer. Walmart MoneyCard has more than a million users, according to the company. With the new DDA accounts, the company appears to be creating a foundation to offer additional services. “The new Walmart MoneyCard is designed to help customers more seamlessly access, manage and move their money — and ultimately improve their financial health — through a suite of innovative and useful tools that will evolve and expand over time,” the company said in a statement. The launch is the latest step in a longer-term partnership with Green Dot. In 2019, the two companies agreed to renew their prepaid card deal until 2027, and also set up a fintech accelerator called TailFin Labs. TailFin’s objective, according to a comments from 2019, was to combine retail, fintech, and banking to create “integrated products and services for shoppers.” Walmart earlier this year filed a patent for a fintech offering called Hazel by Walmart, an amalgam of products and services that resembles a robo-adviser.