TORONTO – Two years after backing off its bid for an American bank charter, retail giant Wal-Mart Stores applied for a banking license in Canada.
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Wal-Mart currently has ATMs and offers extended warranties, wire transfers and emergency bill payments through Western Union in its retail stores, but a bank license would give it access to the Canadian payments system, an avenue it sought unsuccessfully in the U.S.
The company had applied to charter a so-called industrial loan company but was stymied after widespread opposition was lodged with regulators by rival community banks and consumer groups.
The company operates a bank south of the border, in Mexico.
