T-Mobile's 'Smartphone Equality' Program Ends Credit Score Requirement for Loyal Paying Customers

T-Mobile today announced a new program that makes it easier for customers with poor credit to receive discount pricing on devices and other deals previously only available to credit-worthy customers. CEO John Legere kicked off the new "Smartphone Equality" promotion with a video blog that explains the rationale behind the program.


Legere notes that half of Americans do not qualify for most carrier-advertised phone deals due to poor credit or a lack of credit history, and T-Mobile aims to change that by "putting our relationship with you above some number pumped out by a credit bureau, some huge faceless bureaucracy."

With its new "Smartphone Equality" program, T-Mobile is emphasizing the customer's relationship with the carrier instead of their credit score. As part of the initiative, customers who have paid their wireless bill on time for 12 months will be eligible for discounted pricing, including the carrier's popular zero down and no credit check programs. The "Smartphone Equality" program will be available starting next week to eligible customers.

T-Mobile has been shaking up the cellular industry with its ongoing Un-carrier promotions, which broke new ground by removing the cellular contract from a smartphone purchase and offering generous early termination bonuses for customers who switch to T-Mobile. Recently, the wireless carrier introduced its Un-carrier 8 initiative, which includes a new "Data Stash" program that rolls over unused monthly data and makes it available for the following 12 months.

Top Rated Comments

sualpine Avatar
107 months ago
Legere for FCC Chairman.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Paddle1 Avatar
107 months ago
T-mobile really tries to make a difference in the wireless industry.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shenan1982 Avatar
107 months ago
I applaud their move (as will most since as he says, most americans don't have great credit)... but the key is will this add the type of subscribers they want? We'll see. It didn't go well for Sprint back in 1999-2000 when they did the "no credit, no problem" promotion and took everyone and anyone. Time will tell I suppose. But then again, back then if you talked all day and all night, you'd have a $5,000 bill... today if you do the same thing your bill is going to be $50 still. In a world where cell phones have become less of a spend than most people spend in Starbucks, I suppose this makes sense... and with no overages, no international roaming charges, etc... there's really very little risk to TMO.

Ok, in one paragraph I went from opposition to support, haha. Thanks for joining me in my thought process, hehe
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
liavman Avatar
107 months ago
I love this guy.

One of the weirdest and punitive thing about U.S. credit system is, even if you are keeping your credit card payments on time, if for whatever reason your credit score drops, these credit card companies will increase the interest rate on those credit card payments, on the existing balances. This causes these people to pay more on interest which causes more financial hardship and they fall further behind which reduces the credit score even more and on and on.

I am glad T-Mobile dude is doing something about that by putting his relationship with his customers at a higher priority than whatever this customer may or may not have done with other aspects of their financial life.

Kudos! Hope it all works out for him and hopefully it will encourage others especially the banks to change the brain dead process they currently have.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WestonHarvey1 Avatar
107 months ago
A bit melodramatic. They're still more than happy to trust those "huge faceless bureaucracies" when they're assessing new customers.

As they should. It's the only tool they have to assess new customers. But they're not letting that be the end all and be all, which is great.

----------

That's great, but what happens when half of these subscribers can't pay their mobile bills?? T-Mobile taking it on the chin like a champ. :eek:

They've looked at their own data and found that won't be the case.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
technosix Avatar
107 months ago
T-mobile really tries to make a difference in the wireless industry.

Yes they do.

It's a refreshing change and one that's paying off for them. :)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Unified Volume Button and Mute Button

Monday March 20, 2023 8:33 am PDT by
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro. Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
original iphone auction

Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction

Friday March 17, 2023 1:08 pm PDT by
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007. The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Feature

iPhone 12 Pro vs. 15 Pro: New Features to Expect if You've Waited to Upgrade

Friday March 17, 2023 10:29 am PDT by
While year-over-year iPhone upgrades are not always groundbreaking, new features can begin to stack up over multiple generations. For example, the iPhone 15 Pro will be a notable upgrade for those who still have a three-year-old iPhone 12 Pro. If you are still using an iPhone 12 Pro and are considering upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro when it launches later this year, we have put together a...
top stories 18mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Pricing, New iOS 16.4 Beta, Siri vs. ChatGPT, and More

Saturday March 18, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's high-end iPhone models have started at $999 in the U.S. since they first launched back in 2017 with the iPhone X, but could this finally be the year that starting price sees an increase? This week also saw some more rumors about Apple's upcoming headset and the company's explorations in the booming AI industry as well as the release of a new round of beta updates, so read on for all...
smart monitor m8 samsung

Deals: Samsung's iMac-Like Smart Monitor M8 Drops to Lowest Price of Year So Far With $250 Discount

Monday March 20, 2023 8:27 am PDT by
Samsung today kicked off a special "Discover Samsung" event, which will be a week-long savings event focusing on Samsung monitors, smartphones, TVs, appliances, and more. While some deals will stick around the entire week (through March 26), others will refresh every day. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Samsung. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...