Wal-Mart on Wednesday ramped up its push into financial services, announcing plans to open 1,000 in-store “MoneyCenters” in a move it hailed as a “game-changer for the industry”.

Jane Thompson, its head of financial services, confirmed that Wal-Mart was also launching a branded pre-paid payments card aimed at its low-income customers, and said up to four more products would follow before the end of the year.