T-Mobile US revived its mobile banking ambitions with the formal launch of T-Mobile Money, a move first rumoured in November 2018.

The service is being offered in partnership with BankMobile, a division of Customers Bank, and while it is open to all consumers, T-Mobile’s post-paid customers get a preferential interest rate.

Among the services on offer through a mobile app are cheque deposits and payments; direct debits; bill payments; and transfers. Accounts can be linked to Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, with Mastercard supplying debit cards.

John Legere, T-Mobile CEO, said in a statement “as more and more people use their smartphones to manage money, we saw an opportunity to address another customer pain point”.

In addition to marking the operator’s return to the financial services sector after it abandoned a previous banking effort in 2016, T-Mobile Money is also its latest play to capitalise on opportunities in verticals outside its traditional wireless business.

Recently, the operator made moves around mobile TV, as well as home broadband and merchant payments plays.

In January 2018, Legere said the operator was targeting disruption in a number of segments including the medical industry, banking and consumer goods.