BENTONVILLE, Ark.--Oct. 14, 2003--Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is offering its private label credit card customers more reasons to shop this fall by adding a robust set of features that deliver both cost savings and additional convenience.
The new card will allow customers to:
-- Choose their own payment due date
-- Make in-store payments at any Wal-Mart register
-- Receive a 3-cents-per-gallon discount on gasoline purchases at participating locations
-- Receive $20 cash back at time of purchase with no additional fees
-- Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with liability fraud protection
-- Take advantage of special financing offers
-- Purchase AT&T pre-paid long distance minutes at a great rate
Like most of our company's best ideas, these new features are the result of suggestions from our customers, said Jane Thompson, president of Wal-Mart Financial Services. We will continue listening to what they tell us and look forward to making the card even more valuable to them in the months ahead.
Existing customers will automatically receive their new cards in the mail by late October. New customers can apply by logging on to the gift registry at any Wal-Mart store, and once their credit is approved, receive express credit for use right away. There is no annual fee, no expiration date, low minimum monthly payments, and no finance charges if the account is paid in full by the monthly due date.
We've built a great relationship with Wal-Mart since launching the card in 1999, and we're delighted now to be a part of Wal-Mart's long-term plans to grow its private-label program, said Mark W. Begor, president and chief executive officer, GE Consumer Finance-Americas. The program has added real value for Wal-Mart customers, and we're excited about building on that success.
GE Consumer Finance has serviced the Wal-Mart consumer credit portfolio and its 11 million U.S. account holders since 1999, and the company provides a full range of services to Wal-Mart, including marketing, risk management, customer service, collections and national field marketing. Wal-Mart and GE Consumer Finance also offer private label card programs in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
About Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., operates more than 2,936 discount stores, Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets, and more than 532 SAM'S CLUBS in the United States. Last year, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., contributed more than $150 million to support communities and local non-profit organizations. Customers raised an additional $75 million with the help of our stores and clubs.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has received the 2002 Fortune magazine No. 1 Most Admired Company in the U.S., along with receiving the 2002 Ron Brown Award, the highest Presidential Award recognizing outstanding achievement in employee relations and community initiatives.
More information about Wal-Mart can be located online at www.walmartstores.com and www.walmart.com.
The SAM'S CLUB Web site can be accessed at www.samsclub.com.
And more information about Wal-Mart's Good Works community involvement is available online at www.walmartfoundation.org.
About GE and GE Consumer Finance
GE Consumer Finance, a unit of General Electric Company, with $95 billion in assets, is a leading provider of credit services to consumers, retailers and auto dealers in 37 countries around the world.
GE Consumer Finance, based in Stamford, Conn., offers a range of financial products globally, including private label credit cards, personal loans, bank cards, auto loans and leases, mortgages, corporate travel and purchasing cards, debt consolidation and home equity loans and credit insurance.
More information can be found online at www.geconsumerfinance.com. GE (NYSE: GE) is a diversified services, technology and manufacturing company with operations worldwide. More information about GE can be found online at www.ge.com.
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CONTACT: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Melissa Berryhill, 479-273-4314
or
GE Consumer Finance
Peter Tosches, 203-316-7284
Cristy Williams
[email protected]
678.518.2596