Michael Wilson, who spoke on behalf of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, said he believes if the Wal-Mart gets the application approved it would change it down the line.

"I think at some future date, at some future time, they will seek to amend that." Wilson "Wal-Mart doesn't do anything in a small way."

Even if it did not go into retail banking, Terry Jorde, president and CEO of CountryBankUSA in Cando, N.D., and chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America, said the affect on the payment system alone is reason enough to deny the application.

"A Wal-Mart bank would provide Wal-Mart with the capability to exert extraordinary influence on the payment system and would pose significant settlement and security risks to the participants in the system given Wal-Mart's dominant role in the global economy," Jorde said. "Without adequate oversight of the parent company, what would prevent Wal-Mart from requiring its suppliers to use its bank as a condition of doing business?"

Not all witnesses opposed the application.

"This application will allow Wal-Mart to save on transaction costs and pass on savings to workers and customers," according to testimony from Catherine Smith, of the National Steering Committee of Working Families for Wal-Mart. "Why preclude them from that? Why deny Wal-Mart's more than 100 million customers per week the power to stretch their dollars and buy the goods they need?"

The Salvation Army and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children spoke in favor of Wal-Mart, highlighting its charitable contributions and work within local communities.

Wal-Mart applied to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions to establish an industrial bank, but the department has not accepted the application for review yet.

Deputy Utah Commissioner Paul Allred attended Monday's hearing. He said he heard what he expected and that people have a lot of strong opinions about the issue.

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Contributing: Associated Press

E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com