E*Trade, Target team for in-house trading
Online brokerage E*Trade cuts a deal to allow Target customers to check stock quotes or trade as they shop.
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company in cooperation with Target plans to build a financial service center inside of Atlanta?s SuperTarget stores. The new service center is a test project that could, should it prove successful, lead to financial centers in stores across the country, the companies said in a statement.
Since March, E*Trade has signed a number of agreements to support its bricks to clicks strategy. E*Trade, second in size to Charles Schwab among the online brokerages, paid an undisclosed amount in March for automatic teller machine operator Card Capture Services.
E*Trade, as well as other online and offline brokerages, is encroaching on territory that banks have held for years. The online company has begun offering traditional bank offerings such as mortgage loans, checking and savings accounts and online bill payment. Last year, E*Trade acquired Web-based bank, Telebank.
The Target service centers will be outfitted with ATM machines and personal computers for customers to "check market updates or do financial research," E*Trade said.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Target operates SuperTarget, Target and, Mervyn's for a total of 1,252 stores in 45 states.