With its dreams of breaking into the banking industry foiled in the united states, Wal-Mart has turned to another, more cash-strapped market: Mexico. "Banco Wal-Mart" is targeting low-income consumers with savings accounts that offer a miserly 1 percent interest rate. The new bank is also attempting to tap into the short-term lending sector by offering consumer loans at a whopping 75 percent APR.

From CNN Money:

Wal-Mart's mission is to lure newcomers with easy instructions and entry points, like minimum balances of less than $5 and no commissions, compared with $100 minimums at competing banks. (But interest rates are only 1 percent, half what most banks pay, and Wal-Mart's annual rate for consumer loans is 75 percent.) The retailer, which opened three branches in Toluca, plans to have as many as 80 by the end of the year, before an even bigger push in 2009.

Mexico's biggest retailer, with 668 stores, wants to crack the low-income market in a country where just 24 percent of households have savings accounts, compared with 55 percent in Chile.

With options like Banco Wal-Mart, Mexican consumers are probably better off tucking their savings under their mattresses.