Dish's Boost Mobile launches banking serviceDish's Boost Mobile launches banking service

Boost Mobile, the main wireless brand from Dish Network, on Thursday introduced its new OmniMoney banking service.

According to Stephen Stokols, the Dish executive in charge of Boost Mobile, the launch is a further effort by the operator to "get aggressive into value-added services." He pointed to previous efforts from Boost to add services like healthcare to its core wireless offering.

"You've got this massive financial need," Stokols said of banking in general and digital banking specifically. "We're going to basically have a digital bank."

Boost's OmniMoney service will offer customers a banking account along with virtual and physical debit cards providing access to thousands of ATMs. OmniMoney customers will also be able to remit money internationally, including free remittances to Mexico for Boost users on its premium unlimited plan.

Figure 1: Boost Mobile's new OmniMoney banking service lets users remit money internationally.
(Source: Dish. Used with permission.)

"We're looking to provide basic services for historically excluded communities – where 60 million Americans are underbanked," Stokols added. "We're just trying to make that [Boost] mobile relationship more valuable."

Work in progress

OmniMoney is the latest effort by Dish to hang onto its existing wireless customers while seeking new ones. Dish's wireless customer base has declined from around 9.4 million in the second quarter of 2020 to just 7.9 million in the second quarter of 2022. Dish acquired T-Mobile's Boost prepaid business in 2020 for around $1.4 billion.

During the roughly two years of Dish's ownership of Boost, the company has launched several initiatives with varying levels of success. Stokols said its healthcare offering has been "massively successful" and its BoostOne customer-engagement service is "blowing up" with new users. However, he said the company has stepped back from its sports betting offering for now, although it may add it into its BoostOne service at a later date.

Next up for Boost is likely the launch of its postpaid service under the Boost Infinite brand. The company has promised to launch that offering sometime this fall.

Stokols declined to comment on discussions between Dish and CONX about a possible sale of Boost to the special purpose acquisition company created by Charlie Ergen, the founder of Dish Network.

Boost is one of several wireless brands from Dish, though undoubtedly its biggest. Other brands include Project Genesis, Ting Mobile, Republic Wireless and Gen Mobile.

Dish isn't the first mobile services provider to offer banking services alongside wireless connections. T-Mobile launched its Money service in 2018.

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— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano