T-Mobile, one of the leading wireless network operators in the US has recently confirmed that it will soon put an end on its mobile money program.
The Mobile Money program was launched around two years ago by T-Mobile in an effort to provide the benefits of a checking account to “unbanked” users who don’t have one. The program couples a smartphone money-management app with a reloadable T-Mobile Visa Prepaid Card that offers "many reduced fee or $0 cost services" to its customers.
The customers can use Mobile Money to access services such as depositing checks from capable smartphones, direct deposit paychecks, making retail purchases, paying bills and withdrawing cash from more than 42,000 ATMs without paying any kind of extra fees. However, the carrier has recently informed the Mobile Money users that the service will be discontinued on July 27. Also, they said that the users will not be able to reload their accounts or access the app after that. Customers have also been warned to remove any recurring debits and should put a stop to the direct deposits being sent to their cards by June 27, and make sure that they spend down any available balance by the set date, July 27.
The demise of Mobile Money is notable because it was an ambitious effort by T-Mobile to expand far beyond its traditional role as a network operator into consumer banking. It was designed to appeal to younger, mobile-dependent users by serving as an alternative to traditional check-cashing businesses that typically charge hefty fees, making it appear to be a good fit for the "uncarrier."
A spokesman for the carrier confirmed the move to kill the service, saying “more solutions have come to market to address those who need prepaid banking services”. T-Mobile said it will continue to monitor "the mobile-first financial services industry" to address such needs, and continues to support Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. But the operator's effort to provide its own branded banking offering is dead.
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