Check Cashing

Wal-Mart wants to offer more financial services, like check cashing.

The banking industry and lawmakers recently thwarted Wal-Mart's attempt to buy a bank in California. But the retailer remains determined: "What we look for are opportunities for services where it is not as regulated, but where there is an opportunity to save the customers some money," says a spokesman.

Wal-Mart already operates its own ATMs and offers wire transfers and money orders.

It'll be interesting to see how Wal-Mart does in the check cashing biz, which gets a bad rap for exploiting the poor.