New prepaid providers work to pull consumers away from financial institutions

by. Konrad Christensen

Competition for the financial business of underbanked consumers is continuing to heat up, particularly in the prepaid market. Non-traditional players like T-Mobile are targeting consumers without traditional banking relationships to expand their reach and open up new streams of revenue.

For community financial institutions (FIs), driving service to the underbanked is about growth, too. More importantly, though, it’s about supporting this community as its members work hard to become financially stable, budget-healthy consumers.

Marketing language on the T-Mobile website leaves little doubt that the wireless provider is striving to pull even banked consumers away from their current FIs with its new prepaid offering: “Bring your money to T-Mobile, and free yourself from checking fees at the bank.”

Jim Marous, senior vice president of business development at digital marketing agency New Control, recently told the Credit Union Times that T-Mobile’s target users “well could be credit union members with share draft accounts.”

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