Wall Street won't intimidate retail giant Walmart this time around

For two years before the 2008 financial crisis, Walmart Inc was embroiled in controversy over a plan to open its own bank, eventually withdrawing amid pressure from regulators and Wall Street lobbies. Some 14 years later, the retail giant is gearing up for an even more serious fight.

Walmart announced in January that it formed a partnership with Ribbit Capital to create a new financial technology startup. At the time, most outside observers didn’t have much sense of what kind of products the new company would aim to create. The venture “plans to add independent industry experts to the board and