I've made quite a few posts about T-Mobile at this point, but they keep making so many big changes within the industry it's become hard not to talk about them lately. From getting rid of contracts to paying off Early Termination Fees, it would almost seem like T-Mobile has covered all of their bases. For the most part, they have - at least when it comes to mobile. But it seems like T-Mobile isn't quite done, as recently they've announced their plans for T-Mobile's "Mobile Money" services, which sort of has to do with mobile, but for the most part deals with... banking?

Mobile and banking have been becoming closely knit for a while now. Even back when messaging phones were all the rage, some banks were able to do banking alerts via text messages. When smartphones did come along, certain banks and credit unions decided to develop entire applications devoted to checking account balances, doing transfers and even making deposits. Aside from being able to physically withdraw money, some applications were able to eliminate the need for a lot of people to visit banks at all at this point.

Even mobile wallets have come to be a played up feature in a lot of smartphones, such as Google Wallet or Isis Mobile Wallet, which both allow you to store your credit cards on your phone and allow you to pay for things in certain stores and gas stations if your phone has a feature called NFC. It would seem that banking, payments and mobile have a pretty good relationship at this point.

However, it's a little strange to say the least to know that T-Mobile, which is normally a mobile phone carrier, also wants to help you with your finances. While T-Mobile's Mobile Money won't be as detailed as a traditional checking account, the services they offer could still benefit people. Specifically, it will benefit T-Mobile users, as they won't have monthly maintenance fees, purchase fees, deposit fees or withdrawal fees (through network ATMs). As for everyone else, well, it would probably make more sense to get another pre-paid debit card, but the service is still there if you want it to be; however, there would be fees involved for non-T-Mobile customers.

I wouldn't call T-Mobile's Mobile Money services something groundbreaking, but for people who are interested in their Mobile Money service, I could see it being a good way to bring people to T-Mobile's network. I could certainly see the usefulness in Mobile Money, as there are people who are unable to open a checking account with traditional banks for whatever reason. Something like Mobile Money could really help them out, and it would be particularly beneficial if they already use T-Mobile or were in a position to where they would want to switch to T-Mobile.

My question to you, dear reader, is whether you think you would be interested in a service like Mobile Money? Would you still use it even if you weren't with T-Mobile?

Images via T-Mobile