Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and American Express Co. are teaming up to offer customers an alternative to debit cards and checking accounts, Reuters reported the companies as saying today. 

A product called Bluebird will allow for deposits by smartphone and mobile bill paying, with no minimum balance or monthly, annual or overdraft fees.

“Bluebird is our solution to help consumers who currently may be poorly served by traditional banking products,” said Dan Schulman of American Express. “In an era where it is increasingly ‘expensive to be poor,’ we have worked with Wal-Mart to create a financial services product that rights many of the wrongs that plague the market today.” Read more.