T-Mobile to offer a checking account
The account will come with a mobile app, which can connect to services like Venmo and Apple Pay, and a plastic debit card.
In its quest to stand out from U.S. rivals, T-Mobile US Inc. is adding an unusual perk: a checking account.
The carrier is rolling out a new T-Mobile Money app that provides access to no-fee checking accounts managed by BankMobile, part of Customers Bancorp. Monthly wireless subscribers who deposit at least $200 a month will be able to get 4% interest on up to $3,000, and 1% interest on sums above that. The service debuts nationwide on Thursday.
The idea is to keep customers loyal in a market where T-Mobile is battling two much-larger competitors, Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. The carrier also is trying to get regulators to approve its $26 billion takeover of Sprint Corp., and showing that it has innovative services in the pipeline can’t hurt.
“Happy customers are good for business,” Tiffany Minor, a marketing director for T-Mobile Money, said in a phone interview. “They stay longer. We absolutely like that construct.”
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