Welcome to the 55th installment of The Wal-Mart Weekly, a column dedicated to bringing you insight, wit, facts, results, opinions, and just a bit of everything else when it comes down to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

In this week's Wal-Mart Weekly, I'll be looking at the entry (although indirect) of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) into the consumer banking industry. While it may seem a stretch to think that Wal-Mart's new debit card program is anything but a way to help consumers, it could be positioning the retailer as a new banking partner for many consumers as well as adding handsomely to the retailer's bottom line.

Continue reading The Wal-Mart Weekly: Meet Wal-Mart's new debit card. Now it's competing head-on with banks

The Wal-Mart Weekly: Meet Wal-Mart's new debit card. Now it's competing head-on with banks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 05 Apr 2008 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Discover (NYSE: DFS) volatility Elevated as DFS closes at post Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) spin-out low. DFS, which operates the Discover Card with more than 50 million card members, closed at $21.99. Keefe Bruyette says, "We are upgrading DFS to Outperform from Market Perform given the recent weakness in the company's shares." DFS' overall option implied volatility of 48 is above its five-week average of 39 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

American Express (NYSE: AXP) implied volatility Elevated at 38. AXP closed at $57.49. AXP overall option implied volatility of 38 is above its 26-week average of 23 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) volatility Elevated as COF closes near three-year low. COF, a diversified financial services company, closed at $67.34. COF overall option implied volatility of 42 is above its 26-week average of 28 according to Track Data, indicating larger price risks.

Option update: Credit card providers' implied volatility increases originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Aug 2007 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Debit cards for pre-teens? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tired of carrying around a stack of plastic cards? Hope may be on the horizon, and it could be bad news for MasterCard Inc (NYSE: MA), VISA and others.

National Payment Card has launched a service that allows users to link their driver's license, via the info on its magnetic strip, to their checking account, thus allowing them to use it as a debit card. The program test began in Texas early this year, and will soon expand to convenience stores in the region.

This is bad news for Visa, et.al., for two reasons. First, NPC is undercutting the competition by charging only $.15 per transaction instead of the percentage demanded by the national cards.

The second problem is that this destroys branding of the product. Unless the BMV can be convinced to offer gold or platinum driver's licenses, commoditization of consumer credit may well follow.

This could be only the first step in making use of the new standard for driver's licenses that standardizes mag strip contents. If the market can gain access to the individual recognition and authentication features of the BMV system, the driver's license could become the go-to card for credit transactions, ATM access, or even federal benefits such as welfare and Medicare.

Look for the major players in the market to lobby hard to put roadblocks in the way of this movement. The stakes are enormous, especially in light of Visa's planned IPO.

BMV newest VISA, MasterCard competitor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 May 2007 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.