Walmart now provides banking-like services to poor unbanked Americans
Evidence
Walmart has been prevented from establishing an actual bank by an unprecedented alliance of established ļ¬nancial institutions, concerned that the ļ¬rm would drive down fees by leveraging its massive economic power and geographic reach (Gogoi 2007c). Yet Walmart recently established its own line of branded credit cards, proprietary prepaid debit cards, wire transfers, chequecashing services, and other low-fee ļ¬nancial services to ensure that consumers are unencumbered in purchasing all their livesā needs at Walmartās massive superstores, which today can include supermarkets, health clinics, pharmacies, hairdressers, restaurants and optometrists, as well as the entire range of commodities from hardware to furniture to clothing (Gogoi 2007b; Zellner 2005). ā Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 278
Categorization
- SHARE: Surprising detail for someone interested in retail as banking infrastructure.
- ADDENDUM: Could relate to the trees-as-infrastructure piece: Walmart as an alternative financial infrastructure built over existing physical reach.
- XREF: connects to: Walmart exemplifies and shapes everyday financialized capitalism in America. ā Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 246; Walmart functions as a vector stitching financialization and risk management into everyday life. ā Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 272; Walmart shapes workers and shoppers into financialized risk-managing subjects. ā Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 47
Broader Connections
- Walmart functions as a vector stitching financialization and risk management into everyday life.
#exemplifies(0.85) ā Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 272 - Walmart exemplifies and shapes everyday financialized capitalism in America.
#exemplifies(0.82) ā Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 246 - Walmart shapes workers and shoppers into financialized risk-managing subjects.
#exemplifies(0.80) ā Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 47