Yahoo Finance

For many, Walmart is a one-stop shop for groceries, clothes, and other household items — and in some cases, banking.

While it isn’t a bank itself, the Walmart MoneyCenter offers a wide variety of financial services at your local Walmart store in partnership with Green Dot Bank, an FDIC-insured bank.

So how does Walmart stack up against your local bank or credit union?

Services offered when banking inside Walmart

Walmart offers a lot of the same banking products and services as most banks and credit unions. This includes:

One Cash Debit Card

The Walmart One Debit Card offers 3% cash back at Walmart up to $50 a year. For a limited time, however, you can get 10% cash back, up to $20, on your first Walmart purchase with the One Debit card within a month of signing up.

The account doesn’t charge any monthly fees or have minimum balance requirements. It also offers overdraft protection services.

Walmart MoneyCard

The Walmart MoneyCard is a debit card that allows you to earn rewards on Walmart purchases, up to $75 per year. Cardholders can earn 3% cash back at Walmart.com, 2% cash back at Walmart fuel stations, and 1% cash back at Walmart stores.

This card also offers overdraft protection up to $200, early direct deposit, and free cash deposits at Walmart. There is a monthly fee of $5.94, but it is waived when you direct-deposit $500 or more in the previous monthly period.

Reloadable debit cards

Walmart also offers reloadable debit cards provided by Green Dot Bank.

The Green Dot Visa® Debit Card charges a monthly fee of $7.95, but it can be waived with monthly direct deposits of at least $500. The Green Dot Pay As You Go Visa® Debit Card does not come with monthly fees, but each transaction incurs a $1.50 fee.

Both cards also offer overdraft protection up to $200, as well as early direct deposit.

Financial services

Walmart customers can perform a variety of banking tasks, including:

• Cash and print checks

• Pay bills

• Send money orders

• Load money onto a Walmart MoneyCard

• Cash payroll checks, government checks, tax checks, and cashier's checks

• File taxes

• Use buy now, pay later (BNPL) services

Read more: Where to cash a check if you don't have a bank account

Can Walmart replace your bank?

Walmart can offer competitive rewards tailored to its customers. Frequent shoppers can benefit from earning rewards on purchases they already planned to make.

Walmart also offers a low-cost banking option for “unbanked” customers who shy away from traditional banks because of excessive fees or higher minimum deposit requirements. According to the most recent data from the FDIC, about 5.6 million households in the U.S. are unbanked.

Read more: What does it mean to be 'unbanked,' and what are the costs?

The drawback: As a retailer, Walmart doesn’t offer as many products and services compared to major financial institutions, such as credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, auto loans, credit score tools, and Zelle payments.

Although Walmart does offer broader customer service hours, it also offers a uniquely different customer experience than visiting a brick-and-mortar branch, which may or may not be a perk depending on the kind of banking experience you’re looking for.

Read more: Best credit cards for shopping at Walmart

The bottom line

Banking with a major retailer may ease the barrier to entry for certain financial products and services for lower-income households. It can also make banking more convenient by offering a one-stop shop for those who don’t want to make an extra trip to the bank.

However, many of the financial products offered by Walmart come with high fees. And those who need more comprehensive products and services may find that banking with Walmart over a traditional financial institution is too limiting.

In many cases, it’s best to stick with a traditional bank or credit union for things like saving money, borrowing, and investing. But you can also rely on Walmart for specific services, such as printing checks or buying money orders when it’s convenient.