<p>Wal-Mart is offering another incentive to its customers to spend more time at its stores. The world's largest retailer introduced a new money transfer service today that it says will cut fees by up to 50 per cent compared with similar services elsewhere.<br /><br />The Walmart-2-Walmart service is being rolled out in partnership with Ria Money Transfer, a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide Inc.<br /><br />Shares of MoneyGram and Western Union plunged almost immediately on Friday after the announcement.<br /><br />The service, which will be available starting April 24, allows its customers to transfer up to $900 to and from more than 4,000 Wal-Mart stores in the US.<br /><br />It's a huge footprint that could reshape that industry and is likely to set off a pricing battle.<br /><br />Customers can transfer up to $50 for a $4.50 service fee and up to $900 for $9.50.<br />Comparable services elsewhere cost up to $70 when transferring less than $1,000, according to Wal-Mart.<br /><br />Western Union on its website puts the price of transferring $900 in New York between $20, if using a bank account, to $85 if using a credit or debit card.</p>.<p><br />Wal-Mart is creating an expanding menu of financial offerings for customers, particularly for those with limited exposure to banks. Wal-Mart already offers prepaid debit cards and tax preparation services.<br /><br />MoneyGram is the company that currently provides money transfers to Wal-Mart. The company could not be reached immediately for comment. But in a statement emailed to The Associated Press, Western Union said, "Our retail product and service offerings today are already quite diverse."<br /><br />It noted that people have the flexibility to send money in minutes or next day from a retail agent location or online and they can also send money directly into a bank account.<br />"The company is well positioned in the US domestic money transfer space, having offered a fee of $5 for $50 since 2009," it added.<br /><br />Wal-Mart is aggressively trying to increase foot traffic in its stores after seeing comparable-store sales decline for four consecutive quarters.<br /><br />The Walmart-2-Walmart service may help stem that trend, giving customers just one more reason to spend more time inside Wal-Mart. </p>
<p>Wal-Mart is offering another incentive to its customers to spend more time at its stores. The world's largest retailer introduced a new money transfer service today that it says will cut fees by up to 50 per cent compared with similar services elsewhere.<br /><br />The Walmart-2-Walmart service is being rolled out in partnership with Ria Money Transfer, a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide Inc.<br /><br />Shares of MoneyGram and Western Union plunged almost immediately on Friday after the announcement.<br /><br />The service, which will be available starting April 24, allows its customers to transfer up to $900 to and from more than 4,000 Wal-Mart stores in the US.<br /><br />It's a huge footprint that could reshape that industry and is likely to set off a pricing battle.<br /><br />Customers can transfer up to $50 for a $4.50 service fee and up to $900 for $9.50.<br />Comparable services elsewhere cost up to $70 when transferring less than $1,000, according to Wal-Mart.<br /><br />Western Union on its website puts the price of transferring $900 in New York between $20, if using a bank account, to $85 if using a credit or debit card.</p>.<p><br />Wal-Mart is creating an expanding menu of financial offerings for customers, particularly for those with limited exposure to banks. Wal-Mart already offers prepaid debit cards and tax preparation services.<br /><br />MoneyGram is the company that currently provides money transfers to Wal-Mart. The company could not be reached immediately for comment. But in a statement emailed to The Associated Press, Western Union said, "Our retail product and service offerings today are already quite diverse."<br /><br />It noted that people have the flexibility to send money in minutes or next day from a retail agent location or online and they can also send money directly into a bank account.<br />"The company is well positioned in the US domestic money transfer space, having offered a fee of $5 for $50 since 2009," it added.<br /><br />Wal-Mart is aggressively trying to increase foot traffic in its stores after seeing comparable-store sales decline for four consecutive quarters.<br /><br />The Walmart-2-Walmart service may help stem that trend, giving customers just one more reason to spend more time inside Wal-Mart. </p>