You might remember that Wal-Mart was making big-time efforts to get into the banking world–which elicited a huge wave of protest. Well, never say the folks at Bentonville aren’t relentless. If the company can’t get its way into opening up a bank, it will do the next best thing, as The New York Times reports today:

Wal-Mart said yesterday that it would rapidly expand the financial services offered in its vast network of stores, extending the reach of its retailing empire into its shoppers’ wallets and the traditional turf of the American banking industry.

Over the next year, the company plans to introduce a prepaid debit card, intended for low-income consumers, and install money centers — which currently offer check cashing, bill paying and money order services — into at least 1,000 stores, up from 225 now.

    This is Wal-Mart’s way of acting like the Las Vegas of retailing. You put money in someone’s hands at a lower price and give them a place to spend it so they don’t have to anywhere and you can just sit back and watch the dough roll in. Here’s the obvious reason for Wal-Mart’s foray into the business:

At the same time, the moves could help bolster the retailer’s sagging sales by giving low-income customers, who represent much of its business, another reason to shop at its stores. “The logic behind a lot of these services is to increase traffic and do it in a way that puts money in people’s hands,” said Andrew Dresner, a payments industry consultant at Oliver Wyman Financial Services. “You give them a couple hundred dollars,” when they cash their paycheck, “and they will buy other things.”