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NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - T-Mobile US isstepping beyond cellphones and offering payment cards in thelatest effort to differentiate its service from bigger rivals.
The No. 4 U.S. mobile provider said it is offering a Visacard with banking features and a smartphone money managementapplication with reduced-fee or zero-cost services for T-Mobilewireless customers.
The company, which has gained attention with promises ofmore flexible and cheaper cellphone services, is hoping toattract a similar following in personal finance.
The card, issued by a Bancorp Inc subsidiary andlicensed by Visa Inc, is similar to a bank account. Itwill allow consumers to direct deposit paychecks and checks fromsmartphone cameras, make retail purchases, pay bills andwithdraw cash from more than 42,000 ATMs with no fees.
The service could be attractive to people who struggle toqualify for traditional bank accounts but is unlikely to bringin revenue for the operator, at least in the short term, saidJackdaw Research analyst Jan Dawson.
"This has to be seen today as strictly a competitivedifferentiator and not a revenue opportunity, though I wouldexpect T-Mobile to offer a broader range of financial servicesover time, and perhaps try to make some money on those," Dawsonsaid. "For now, though, this is another marketing effort fromT-Mobile that will cost money rather than make money for thecompany."
T-Mobile Chief Executive John Legere managed to turn aroundfour years of customer losses with subscriber growth in the lastthree quarters of 2013 by offering discounted services andloudly criticizing bigger rivals Verizon Wireless , AT&T Inc and Sprint Corp.
T-Mobile shares were down 3 cents at $33.14 on the New YorkStock Exchange on Wednesday.
