T-Mobile will cash your checks: how it works

T-Mobile is now getting into the check-cashing business.

The service, called Mobile Money, is timed for a February launch and will be available at T-Mobile retail locations and participating Safeway stores around the country. The big promise from T-Mobile is that the service will allow users to cash their checks without “excessive fees” that traditional check-cashing companies require. Customers don’t have to be T-Mobile wireless subscribers to be Mobile Money subscribers -- or vice versa -- but being both has its perks. The company will automatically waive monthly fees for its wireless customers. So, how will it work? T-Mobile customers will get a T-Mobile prepaid Visa Card that can be loaded and reloaded through the Mobile Money app. The company did not give specifics but said it will offer the services at a “reduced fee or $0 cost” for its registered wireless customers. The service will require no minimum balance and also promises no overdraft fees. From their Mobile Money accounts, users will be able to direct-deposit paychecks, deposit checks via smartphone camera, make purchases, pay bills and withdraw cash from 42,000 ATMs across the country, T-Mobile said.