It's misleading to say that big retailers are not affiliated with banks. They can handle check-cashing and prepaid cards, yes, but these stores also offer credit cards as financing for larger purchases. Even low-income consumers want a nice TV. When you get down to the fine print for these credit offers, they're all backed by a bank. The Walmart Credit Card is backed by GE Capital Retail Bank and the Best Buy Reward Zone Credit Card is backed by HSBC. Target does its own credit services through Target National Bank, but Target does offer deposit accounts as opposed to Walmart. Stores like Walmart and Best Buy may not announce that their financing offers are backed by banks in their weekly ads, but they are affiliated with mainstream financial institutions.